Separated by pandemic, LI mom and son team up to feed families in El Salvador
Before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Louis Moran had been looking forward to his planned spring visit to see family in El Salvador.
Those plans were canceled as the pandemic worsened, and Moran, 36, of Wantagh, got cut off from his family there — including from his mother, Sandra Moran, 54, of Uniondale, who had been in her hometown in El Salvador when the lockdowns went into place.
But something good came out of it, he said: Even though they were 3,500 miles apart, the mother-son duo connected virtually, and started a charity and food distribution effort to help families in need in Suchitoto, El Salvador — a town of about 24,000 where Sandra Moran grew up and is currently residing.
“There was a time where I just felt like there was something I needed to do,” Louis Moran said, adding that he'd been inspired to look for ways to give back during the pandemic. "She’s in El Salvador — El Salvador is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere — so she was like, 'Why don't we do something in the town?' Because our whole family history is rooted in that town."
They started raising their own money, but the idea became reality when they launched a GoFundMe page in May. Within a few weeks, they raised more than $3,000 from friends, family members, co-workers and others in their network, he said.
After some research, Louis and his mother found that families in the area needed about $10 worth of food just for basic needs each week, he said. They started working with a friend there who could help make food baskets at wholesale prices.
They could make a basket that included basic essentials like rice, beans, oils, sugar, milk, cereal, pasta and spices for only $10. Volunteers helped them connect with the president of each community in Suchitoto, who would provide a list of families in dire need of food.
Sandra Moran collected the food baskets at her family home in Suchitoto — with Louis over video chat from Long Island — and volunteers would load them on a truck for delivery to those in need.
They’ve fed more than 200 families in Suchitoto since the effort began.
“It’s something people are so thankful for,” Sandra Moran said.
The bags or baskets also include the name of the donor whose contribution made it possible.
“It gave us purpose,” Louis Moran said. “That’s what my mom and I always tell each other when we talk about it.”
With the leftover funds, they have been gathering and donating energy bars, water and Gatorade for nurses and doctors at local hospitals. The Morans have also been putting donations toward sending cleaning supplies to prison systems.
Sandra Moran said this effort specifically hit home for her after seeing the need in her home country. She had left El Salvador for New York at a young age, but returned last winter to see family.
“This was our opportunity to give back to my country,” she said.
The Morans said the effort brought them closer together. Louis Moran said he is looking to visit his family in El Salvador as soon as it’s safe.
In the meantime, the pair will continue trying to find more ways to expand the effort to help, he said.
“This is just a small thing, but it goes a long way,” he said. “There’s so much work that my mom and I could do with this moving forward.”
Erin Serpico is an assistant web producer who joined Newsday in November 2018. Originally from New Jersey, she now covers community events and produces local content for newsday.com while also helping run the homepage.
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