Growing up on the South Side and attending Desert View High School, she saw firsthand how working together can make a difference through clubs and classes.

The feeling of helping others stuck with her throughout her teenage years and into adulthood.

“I’ve had that idea in my head since I was a teenager,” she said. “But it was in the back of my mind and it was still there after high school and when I was a little older. But I just didn’t know what I wanted to do or how to start. , fast forward to 2020 and it became very clear what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it, and I threw myself into it.”

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit communities hard, especially in low-income areas where food and other essentials were already scarce.

Guerrero decided to step up for his community rather than sit back and wait for these resources to arrive.She established an emergency community assistance program South Tucson Community Outreach.

Initially, the program focused on distributing pandemic essentials such as PPE, hand sanitizer, and household items such as toilet paper and paper towels.

“When we first started it was just helping people,” she said. “It wasn’t like, ‘Is this a community group or is this a nonprofit?’ It was just about helping people. is attached. Let’s make this bigger. See if anyone else in our community needs help. And that’s how it turned into a community group. ”

After the peak of the pandemic passed, Guerrero shifted the program’s focus and began distributing free emergency food boxes to families in the South. Food boxes are the main focus of today’s nonprofits.

South Tucson Community Outreach is providing one-time free emergency food boxes to families and individuals in the South. Designated delivery area Between 22nd Street and Los Reales Road and Interstate 19 and Kino Parkway/Campbell Avenue.Fill out this shape request a box

“Our goal was to help the community with food aid no matter what,” Guerrero says. “So as long as you live in an area we deliver to, you’re eligible to get a free food box. We don’t ask for personal information, financial information, or anything like that. We want to get rid of that bureaucracy and make food easier for residents on the south side, as that was the main goal.”

The only thing they will ask you is how many people currently live in your household to ensure that you have a box full of food ready.

Unlike other resources, where food boxes typically include only canned and shelf-stable foods, South Tucson Community Outreach includes fresh produce such as vegetables, fruits, and eggs.

The organization also modifies the food box to suit your dietary needs.Do you have food allergies? Are you on a strict diet? Ms. Guerrero and her volunteers go to grocery stores and pick up items that meet the recipient’s needs.

Additionally, many items in the Food Box feature regional ingredients and ingredients steeped in Tucson culture.

“We put a lot of thought into the box and what the community would want to eat, something that would be nutritious and long-lasting,” she said. One thing I always hear is, “Wow, this is not what I expected.” I appreciate whatever I can get my hands on, but I thought it was going to be some kind of canned or expired food, I think it’s more thought… Eating this I’m looking forward to it.

“Seeking help, especially food assistance, can be scary and daunting at times and can be embarrassing for many people, so I’m glad it’s also fun.”

After assembling the food box, the organization’s volunteers hand-deliver it to the recipient’s home. Guerrero says this helps remove the stigma around seeking food assistance.

South Tucson Community Outreach has distributed 2,000 to 2,500 emergency food boxes since its inception, providing food to approximately 1,250 families and 4,500 to 5,000 people.

In Pima County, according to 2020 data, the food insecurity rate among Hispanic/Latino individuals is 18%. feeding americaThe overall food insecurity rate for Pima County is 12.6%.

Much of the South Tucson Community Outreach food is donated or purchased through monetary donations to the organization. Initially, the goods were kept in a storage unit until Guerrero met Jennifer Perlin, an assistant agent at the University of Arizona. garden kitchen.

“Unfortunately, during the pandemic, our kitchen was closed, and she was paying for storage space at the time, which seemed silly,” Perlin said. During that time, we started storing all of her items in the kitchen, after which we got to know each other better and started collaborating on grants like emergency food boxes and holiday boxes.”

Guerrero is currently the organization’s only employee, but there are many volunteers who help pick up groceries, pack boxes, and deliver food to members of the community.

Food crates are a one-time distribution in an emergency, but Guerrero doesn’t want to leave anyone in dire straits.

She will try to provide additional boxes if tissue inventory permits. But even with few items, she points her members of the community to other local resources she can help.

“She has a very community-oriented focus,” Perlin said of Guerrero. I think that’s very admirable, and she’s always happy to take feedback and try to change things or make things better so that the program works better for her community, which is ours.”

The organization is always accepting both in-kind and monetary donations to fill the pantry.

In the future, Guerrero hopes to expand the organization’s delivery area, hire some paid employees, and run nutrition classes.

But whatever the future holds for South Tucson Community Outreach, ensuring that Tucson’s Southside community receives food assistance will always remain a priority.

“When people really need support or help, our community comes together and they are very strong and we can get things done,” she says.

“Our community and family are so strong and connected. …we are small, but we are sure to come together, and I think our culture is part of that, we are like a familia, we are like a family. And we can be a very strong community just by being united and working together. And we are a very strong community.”

Learn more about South Tucson Community Outreach here. website again instagram page.