O.C. resident Isabel Millan has been coming to a weekly food bank in the downtown Santa Ana for three years now, joining friends in laughter, conversation, and sharing a meal.
“This space has been so important to me because when I come here, I get to see all my friends,” said Millan, 65, in Spanish.
The weekly drive is hosted by Alianza Translatinx, an O.C.-based organization of transgender Latinx and diverse community members in the area, whose goal is to help improve the quality of life for these communities.
While other local organizations help provide food and groceries to the Latinx community in Orange County — including the Latino Health Access — Alianza Translatinx is the only nonprofit that provides resources specifically for trans, gender nonconforming and intersex (TGI) Latinx communities and people of color in Orange County, officials said.
Each week, the nonprofit provides groceries and hot meals to communities in need.
On a Friday afternoon at the Alianza Translatinx office, the feeling of community is apparent. People gathered together to eat ready-made meals like macaroni salad, tacos, rotisserie chicken and more. Half of the room was filled with box donations, such as potatoes, cantaloupes, carrots and coconut water.
Khloe Rios-Wyatt, the organization’s president and CEO, said the food bank started in 2020. What began as a response to community needs during the pandemic grew over time, as more people lost work and struggled to afford groceries.
“We noticed that a lot of individuals who are monolingual Spanish speaking were being turned down from other food banks in the area,” Rios-Wyatt said, “specifically in the southern part of Orange County, which has more English speaking communities.”
The nonprofit used to go out and provide hot meals to local trans Latinx folks experiencing homelessness, but has stopped doing that because of limited capacity, Rios-Wyatt said.
Still, being able to help where they can — while building a community of “regulars” at their offices — is where it counts, especially with the overall cost of groceries rising with inflation.
Since 2021, Alianza Translatinx has partnered with the Second Harvest Food Bank to distribute bulk grocery items — including eggs, milk and meat — and hot ready-made meals twice a week. Around 60 to 70 people are served each week, officials said.
The nonprofit also offers housing support, information for changing name or gender markers, mental health resources, even folklórico dance lessons.
Rios-Wyatt is hopeful they can receive funding to continue providing donations and hot meals through their Monday through Friday drop-in center. The regular center is meant to “provide a safe space for our Latinx LGBTQ+ community to access essential food items,” she said.
Part of being a safe space for the community includes having volunteers and workers who look, speak and identify similarly to those they serve.
“We have individuals that speak English, Spanish, both languages, different nationalities, different gender identities,” Rios-Wyatt said. “Everyone that works at Alianza trans Latinx identifies as part of the TGI community.”
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Attendee Paulina Gil said the weekly food bank was very helpful to her because she is currently living in her car.
Gil is often able to get breakfast through her part-time job at a food truck. Along with the meals and groceries provided by the food drive, she is able to save the money she makes to be able to drive around in her search for housing.
“I like the confidence and community of the other girls here,” Gil said.