Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The healing process continues for the Buffalo community after Saturday's mass shooting at the Tops Friendly Market in the 1200 block of Jefferson Avenue that left 10 people dead and another three wounded.
This Tops supermarket, in particular, was a central hub for the residents of Buffalo's East Side with it being the only supermarket for miles. And with many people living in the area not owning cars or driving in the City, it was their only source for groceries and other goods necessary for every day life.
As law enforcement agencies continue to investigate Saturday's shooting at the store, it remains closed to the public. That has led to some residents facing critical issues such as the ability to feed their families, or live out their normal daily lives.
However, a couple of different makeshift food distribution centers have been set up right around the Tops supermarket in the East Side community. This includes a couple of different locations on East Ferry Street, just a few blocks north of the 1200 block.
One of those locations has essentially become a mobile Tops site, with the help of folks at Resource Council of Western New York and FeedMore WNY.
"We've received generous donations from FeedMore WNY and Top Supermarket, and then additionally, since then, Wegmans has joined in and a considerable amount of private donations," said Keri Socker, Chief of Staff with the Resource Council. "What we're doing is giving out a box of food from FeedMore WNY, and then we're supplementing it with the items received from Tops, Wegmans and private donations so that they get a supplemental bag, so that they at least have a few days worth of dinner and food, personal care items to get them through the week."
On top of getting help from FeedMore WNY, Tops and Wegmans, Socker says hundreds of people have generously come out to offer a lending hand for the cause.
"They'll leave, they'll go shopping and bring back trunks full of goods. I've never seen such a huge answer to our call, if I can say, just from Facebook posts and people just putting the word out that we need help," she said.
Socker is aware of the importance of the Tops on Jefferson Avenue, having grown up a mile from where they're located on East Ferry Street. She can remember the fight from the community to get the Tops supermarket to open in the area some 20 years ago.
While the loss of 10 innocent lives at the hands of a hate crime is more than enough for Socker's efforts to help, she also has a personal connection to Saturday's shooting.
"I lost a friend that day in the store. So the right thing to do is to do what we're doing, because this is what the community needs," Socker said. "They don't have anywhere to go. There's only a Family Dollar over there. I've been told by several of these residents that have come over and telling me that the prices have gone up at that Family Dollar, the shelves are not very full, and they don't want to go in a store right now. I don't blame them.
"It's going to be very difficult to staff that store. It's going to be very difficult for people to walk through those doors again. It's scary, it's sad. There's too much sadness in that store. I don't think I'll go back to that store. I would hope they'll find another place to build another store. We've got to find a solution to it, but I don't think it's going to be anytime soon that any African American person or person of color will be comfortable walking through the doors of that store."
While many from the Buffalo community and elsewhere around Western New York have donated goods and their time to help the cause, that assistance has extended much further than the local picture.
"I've gotten calls today from all over the country - friends in California, Atlanta, North Carolina - all offering to send packages and anything that [they] can do," Socker said. "We have a GoFundMe page. All the money is going to buying supplies, food, it's just needed. They don't have anywhere to go to get anything, we have to provide it for them."
On top of the help coming from donations of goods and money, it has also come in the form of bodies to help distribute some of the key resources of local residents.
One of those coming to Buffalo from out of town to help just down the road on East Ferry Street is Latisha Springer. She happens to be the founder of Free99Fridge in Atlanta, Georgia.
"We operate community fridges in Atlanta, and so when I heard Buffalo Community Fridge was gonna need some help, I flew up [Tuesday] night," said Springer when asked what brought her to Buffalo. "We've just been helping out. My community has sent donations to support the Buffalo community, so we're here in solidarity."
Springer says that a number of people have sent her Venmo and Cash App donations so she can make multiple runs to other local stores and load up her vehicle of food and other essential products.
While the donations of good and services for the community has already been a lot, Springer says there is always a need for more.
"I think it's hard to describe, because people are asking me, 'What's the most needed thing? What how can they best help?' I think you just need to think about what you have at your house. What do you need?," she said. "Those are the same things that people need here. Water, laundry detergent, diapers, there's a shortage on formula - we all know - so formula, food, obviously. Anything you can bring. I always tell people just share your favorites. It's the same with our community fridges, there's no right thing to bring. You should just share your favorites and someone will like it. We're serving a really large and diverse population."
With the Tops remaining closed on Jefferson Avenue, Springer knows the type of strain that can put on a community like the East Side. But she is not alone when it comes to people extending their support to help those in need.
"We had people from Canada here [Tuesday], so everyone's just coming together to support each other," Springer said. "This is just a grassroots movement, and we're just here to make sure everyone has what they need."
Another way people have been able to contribute to the cause has been the ordering of food and other goods online, then having that order shipped to a local food distributor.
"I guess people saw on social media that we are accepting donations," said Jessie Reardon of Buffalo Community Fridge. "We do have an address associated with the fridge. So I guess what a bunch people did was just order stuff on Amazon and have it shipped to the fridge, which is awesome, however, usually there's no one here manning the fridge. So we really encourage people in the future not to do that and to please drop it off themselves, but this is amazing. The community is just taken upon themselves to rally together and help out."
While Reardon has been grateful of people's donations, she says trucks of all sorts have been rolling up, which is very unexpected when the fridge usually just stands alone. She encourages everyone for future reference to just drop off any donations in-person.
