Mass grocery drive takes aim at food insecurity on Buford Highway

A line of cars stretched for blocks on Saturday morning along Buford Highway, one of Atlanta’s main immigrant corridors.

Drivers were heading to a food drive at the Latin American Association, an immigrant serving nonprofit. Dozens of community members also made their way on foot to the Brookhaven-based organization from nearby apartment complexes.

The grocery giveaway was part of the LAA’s efforts to address rising food insecurity among Hispanic households amid the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown, and disruptions in the disbursement of food assistance benefits because of the recent government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.

The annual event — in its third year — is a collaboration between the LAA, the Atlanta Hawks and CareSource. Organizers said they expected to serve more than 450 families on Saturday, up from 300 last year.

Among them was Ana Garcia’s family.

The 16-year-old walked over to the LAA because her mother had seen a social media post promoting the event.

“My mom, she didn’t believe it at first, so she sent me to come see it. And I got our food,” she said. According to Garcia, it had become more difficult for her family to put food on the table while Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits were suspended during the federal shutdown.

“At the end of the day, we got to realize these are all families, and we’re all just trying to eat,” she said.

Included in the bags of groceries given to attendees or loaded in their trunks were foodstuffs and brands popular in the Hispanic community — including Maseca corn flour and Goya canned goods, as well as milk, eggs, oil and rice, among others.

Families served on Saturday had mixed immigration statuses, according to Cynthia Román-Hernández, vice president of family stabilization and well-being at the LAA.

Many of them came to the food drive with young children.

Román-Hernández said that one-off food drives such as Saturday’s are meant to complement the LAA’s routine work addressing food insecurity through its two on-site food pantries, one in their Brookhaven headquarters and the second in the organization’s Gwinnett County outreach center, located in Norcross. Demand has surged in 2025.

In the last three months alone, daily family visits have risen from an average of 19 per day to more than 39 per day.

“We see families who have to choose between paying their rent or eating,” Román-Hernández said.

The LAA points to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown as an important reason why food insecurity has grown. Many families have lost breadwinners to detention or deportation.

Others are cutting back on their work hours to spend more time at home, where they feel safer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Rising food and housing costs are also driving community need.

Alexis Roe, vice president of community impact at the Atlanta Hawks, said she hopes that evidence of surging hunger in the Atlanta-area spurs more people to get involved and help.