Costa Rica Coronavirus Food Drive May 6, 2020

I want to take this moment to THANK everyone who has donated to our food drives. So many individuals and organizations have gone into overdrive to make sure families in need are getting the essentials to survive. Just a couple months ago, Guanacaste was at the top of the world. Tourism was at an all-time high, and the Costa Ricans were living better than they ever had. You have to understand, that Ticos are very proud people; they are workers. They don’t beg or ask for handouts, there is no government social services like welfare or unemployment; they take care of themselves and ask very little from anyone else. Then literally overnight, everyone in the industry, was out of work; with no way to earn a living. Many times these are highly educated people, bilingual, who had incredible jobs and businesses, and now they are struggling to even feed their families. To go from having the world in the palm of your hand, to having to open your palm and ask for a handout is very humbling.

TANK TOPS FLIP FLOPS along with PATAS Y MANOS and the local police, have been organizing weekly deliveries to some of the neediest families in the area. We are going into some of the more remote locations, where many times these people have been skipped over by the government and school food drives. Many people have offered to assist in the delivery of the food and we appreciate it. But due to health concerns, we have limited the amount of vehicles and drivers who can go with us on our supply runs. Sometimes we go into some very dangerous locations, which is why we coordinate with the police, and they keep a list of every home and individual we visit, along with the names of all the volunteers who were with us, in case someone is infected. This way they can stop the spread and isolate. This is exactly why Costa Rica is doing so well; everyone is taking this threat very seriously here and it shows by our low active case numbers and mortality rate.

Coronavirus Food Drive April 24, 2020

As has been well documented, Costa Rica has been one the leaders in the world with their handling of the COVID-19. In the future, they will use this amazing little country as the poster child for how to handle a Pandemic. We are very proud of how the Ticos have responded and worked together in these very challenging times. But as everyone knows, this country relies tremendously on tourism, and with the complete shutdown of foreigners being allowed to enter, it has had a drastic effect on people’s lives and livelihood. Many families are struggling to put meals on the table, so many organizations have jumped into action, delivering food and necessities to the most needy. The government has implemented care package deliveries through the local schools, and many towns have organized food drop off locations. Tank Tops Flip Flops has been helping local charities since its conception, and we have appreciated all the support that you have shown.

We need your help again. With the assistance of Patas Y Manos, and the local police departments we are able to take food directly to the homes of the neediest. In our first caravan, we delivered food to over 600 people. What an incredible day. Out of respect to the families, we chose not to take any photos or videos of the individuals receiving the packages, but trust me when I tell you, these people needed our help. Many of them are living on dirt floors, with absolutely no way to making a living right now. I cannot begin to tell you how many people had tears in their eyes, when we knocked on their door.