The Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center homeless shelter distributed free turkeys and all the makings for a traditional Thanksgiving meal to more than 500 Cameron County families on Wednesday, courtesy of Walmart, H-E-B and other benefactors to its food pantry.
The Ozanam Center is well known to people who live near the shelter on North Minnesota Avenue, its manager Myrna Miriam Arteaga and people receiving the free meals said during more than two hours of distribution Wednesday morning.
By 9:30 a.m., a line of cars and SUVs snaked along the southbound side of North Minnesota Avenue all the way to Boca Chica Boulevard. The food pantry had set up a drive-thru operation at its warehouse on the Ozanam Center’s edge.
By 11 a.m. they were running out of turkeys, and the line had been reduced to only a few cars.
This setup is well known in the area because the Thanksgiving turkey give-away has taken place for many years. Also, on two Wednesdays a month the pantry distributes essential food and household items to needy families who live within a five-mile radius of the shelter, the Ozanam Center states on its website.
But on the second Wednesday before Thanksgiving turkeys were the order of the day.
Each car received a frozen turkey, a fresh pumpkin pie, vegetables, bread and other meal-makings, Arteaga said.
If a vehicle’s occupants could show they represented more than one family, the car would get more than one turkey and fixings. Sometimes a driver would claim a turkey for him or herself or for his or her family.
And then there was Hesiquia Luna, a retiree who lives by herself about 10 blocks from the shelter. Wednesday morning she bundled up, got out her walker and got in line.
She said she has been taking advantage of the food pantry’s help for about two years.
Many of the people receiving the Thanksgiving meals said they found out about the food pantry through word of mouth. All said they were thankful for the generosity and appreciated the food pantry’s help through the pandemic and tough economic times.
Yuri and Emilio Rodriguez said they live nearby and had been coming to the food pantry for about four years.
“They are very good. They help us a lot,” Emilio said.
Arteaga said the food pantry’s warehouse sends out a van during the week to pick up items donated by H-E-B, Walmart and other benefactors, storing them for distribution later.
Sometimes the warehouse becomes overstocked with certain items, at which time there will be additional distributions, Arteaga said, adding that Friday is registration day for food pantry services at the center, 656 N. Minnesota Ave.
Arteaga said the Ozanam Center serves people from countries around the world. Recent arrivals have come from Russia, Ukraine, China and Haiti.
Jean Fredler Joseph and Jean Aliz Etienne, both Haitian refugees, and Ozanam residents from Haiti and other countries, helped distribute the free meals.
The Ozanam Center serves individuals and families in need with emergency housing assistance. It is located on a six-acre site that is property of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville and has a maximum capacity of 200 people, the website states.
The diocese originally established the Ozanam Center to house Central American political refugees. It was first named Casa Oscar Romero in honor of the martyred Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador.
In 1995, the shelter gained independent status as a non-profit organization and was named the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center and expended to serve anyone who needs temporary shelter.
The center currently serves mainly the Cameron County but many of its guests also arrive from Willacy and Hidalgo counties, other parts of the U.S and the world.
The center provides a holistic homeless services program, delivering emergency shelter, case management, food pantry and homeless prevention services to the area’s most vulnerable residents: needy families, runaway youth, the elderly, individuals with substance abuse problems, mental illness and other special needs. Most guests are self-referred or referred by local social service agencies, law enforcement and the community in general.
The United Way of Southern Cameron County, City of Brownsville, Catholic diocese, and community, state and federal agencies, as well as private foundations, provide funding.
