Photos: Volunteer caravan feeds tamales to Half Moon Bay farmers

The group assembled 2,400 tamales to feed those during the holidays who feed the rest of us year-round.

With the bilingual holiday anthem “Feliz Navidad’ blaring from the stereo, the first truck in the Farmworker Caravan pulled into a Half Moon Bay Farm intent on a mission: Feed those during the holidays who feed the rest of us year-round.

It started Monday at the Moose Lodge in San Jose. There, about 40 volunteers in the holiday spirit, danced as they worked makeshift assembly lines and turned 200 pounds of masa, or cornbread dough, and 100 pounds of chicken and beef into tamales. They also made another 1,200 vegetarian tamales or tamales de raja, with jalapeño peppers and cheese. The first 1,200 tamales were Wednesday at three farms in Half Moon Bay.

Rosa Ruiz, one of the volunteers, grew up working on a farm.

“Today all day I was reminded of my parents,” Ruiz said after helping distribute the 2,000-plus tamales to the laborers. “We were so grateful to them for all the work they do for us to feed us so it was nice to feed them for a while.”

Darlene Tenes founded the Farmworker Caravan last year when she posted requests on social media for supplies to hand out as pandemic-panicked consumers emptied shelves.

“Everybody should be thankful for farmworkers. Everything in your refrigerator … There’s not a single person in America that does not benefit from a farmworker,” Tenes said, adding why the Caravan also handed out blankets, Biofreeze pain relief products, coolers, face masks, rain boots, heated socks and toiletries to the workers. “Even though they are picking food for us, they can’t afford to feed themselves.”

Farmworker Caravan handled the tamales, while other groups including ALAS, or Ayudando Latinos A Soñar (Helping Latinos Dream), gathered the other provisions through an Amazon wish list of items people could donate.

Juan Morales helped set up the farmworker wishlist and encouraged others wanting to help to consider donating more raincoats and boots.

“They’re out there in the rain, COVID, the fires that we’ve had, the scorching sun and it’s just a grind,” Morales said of the farmers’ unsung heroism. “This is something that most people can’t do or don’t want to do. So for me [new volunteers] should definitely see [the farmworkers] as heroes and as the ones who feed all communities.”