HARLINGEN — What does 4,200 cookies look like?
Members of the RGV Cookie Coalition know what it looks like because they delivered them to area police officers and Border Patrol agents after filling an entire dining room of cookie boxes.
Some of the cookies the police departments received were rainbow sprinkles, chocolate chip, red velvet, chocolate, sugar cookies, lemon drop and oatmeal raisin cookies.
Dee Dee Cantu delivered more than 1,000 cookies to local law enforcement yesterday.
She is a member of the RGV Cookie Coalition, a group of 40 families and 40 businesses that helped make, bake and distribute cookies in the effort to show local law enforcement officers the community cares about them.
“In light of everything our officers have been facing this year, we thought it would be a good idea to show them we care by baking them cookies,” Cantu said.
Cantu said the stories of police in harm’s way over the past year sparked the group’s motivation to bake more than 4,200 cookies for the Valley police officers and Border Patrol agents.
Yesterday, Cantu delivered cookies to the Harlingen, La Feria, Brownsville, Port Isabel and South Padre Island police departments.
“We put this together three weeks ago for our local law enforcement to show we support them and to show them not everybody is out to get them,” Cantu said.
Cookies were also left at the police departments in Santa Rosa, Rio Hondo and San Benito.
And another group took cookies to the various Border Patrol offices throughout the Valley.
Cantu said the community outpouring for the project was phenomenal.
She said many people rallied for the cause to help make and distribute the cookies.
She said some people donated bags, made the cookies, gave boxes or donated cookie dough.
“It really was a collaborative effort,” Cantu said. “We had donations from across the Valley.”
Cookies came in by the dozens and sometimes people made more than 100 cookies.
“We have these courageous people willing to stand up against any one that would harm us,” Cantu said. “We are behind our law enforcement all the way.”