Recorded and Produced By: Sarah Arellano
Thanksgiving is usually enjoyed in the warmth of our homes, surrounded by loved ones. Thanks to Rosita Coffee Co. owner Adriana Valenzuela, other families were able to experience this tradition as well.
Amid the government shutdown on October 30, Adriana took to TikTok asking followers in her community for help. She and her husband, Daniel Valenzuela, another small business owner, wanted to give back to their community by providing Thanksgiving Day meal kits to families in need.
Adriana says that in the past, her family helped hand out plates in Jacome Plaza, and this year they wanted to do something different.
“We decided to prepare meal kit boxes, where we are providing everything you need to make a Thanksgiving meal for you and your family in the comfort of your home, so you can still feel like you’re having a Thanksgiving meal.”
They named this initiative Harvest of Hope.
The meal kits are designed to bring all the essentials—turkey, sides, and dessert—directly to families, making it easy to celebrate Thanksgiving at home.
Their goal was to make 20 boxes worth of Thanksgiving meals to give to families in need.
With more than a week left before Thanksgiving, Adriana returned to social media to share information about Harvest of Hope and explain how people can receive a meal kit.
Unexpectedly, the video skyrocketed to become the second most viewed on her account, surpassing 6,000 views.
With all the buzz, the donation form exploded in popularity, leaving Adriana with no choice but to take it down and rethink her strategy.
“It definitely picked up way quicker,” Adriana said, “My approach on TikTok was to share this with anybody and everybody and my DMs were blowing up– I was like Oh my god, what are we doing here but it’s good to see–like thats–that was the goal was the goal and even though we definitely surpassed what we wanted to be able to do and that has kind of been overwhelming, it still just goes to show how willing a community is to help when you ask for it.”
But before she took the form down, Adriana received two of the largest donations, ensuring the fundraiser not only reached its goal but surpassed it.
One woman offered to match Adriana’s 20 boxes, while another donated $500 to help cover the food costs for the kits.
In the end, the 20 meal boxes Adriana wanted to give to families in need grew to 52 Thanksgiving meal boxes distributed.
