Tragedy Strikes Local Food Community - You can help

We at Arizona Foodie love what we do. We write about food and post photos of the deliciousness you can find around town. To us, food is happiness. It brings people together, it brings smiles and it brings love. Unfortunately, while bringing that joy to the Mesa community, members of our beloved food family were struck with unimaginable horror.

We can't even fathom what went down that evening and it pains us that this is the world we live in, but we are so proud of our friends at Sabor a Mi for having the strength to rise above the tragedy and help those it has affected the most.

Last week, horror struck when an unknown person(s) opened fire at peaceful food pop-up event. It started out as a fun night, a gathering of friends and family enjoying music and great food provided by several local vendors. “It was a good evening, we were keeping busy, everything was smooth when all of a sudden we heard the shots,” said Sabor a Mi owner.

The aftermath of the drive-by shooting left seven people injured, including two employees of Sabor a Mi. Sadly, the youngest victim, a one year-old baby has since passed away.

This is so awful and unimaginable. The people at this event were just minding their own business and this happened and to make matters worse, many people are now making this situation political and Sabor a Mi owners disagree - “This isn't political or about race,” they said. “This was just pure evil.

This is a devastating blow to the community, but Sabor a Mi is making an effort to help the victims and those affected by what happened. “This is been horrible on so many levels,” said Sabor a Mi owner. “Both of our employees who were shot are the sole breadwinners for their families, one has four kids and a wife to support; the other has a seven year-old daughter and a husband.”

Both of their employees were gravely injured and needed emergency surgery for survival. According to Sabor a Mi one of them has been released from ICU care and the other remains in critical condition; they are expected to survive but both have a long road to recovery.

The pain and suffering goes far beyond physical wounds. “I will never forget what I saw that night,” said the owner. “I'll never forget what I heard, the screams. I'll never get them out of my head.”

The terror has caused significant emotional trauma for the Sabor a Mi employees as well. All of the victims of the night were in the immediate vicinity of their booth, so they saw everything. “I am so, so worried about about our cashier,” said the owners. “She was right there, she can't stop crying, she's so scared. I want to make sure we can get her some help too.”

Sabor a Mi has started a GoFundMe account to raise money to help those who have been affected by the violence. They have set the goal high so that they can help the victims as much as possible. All the money raised will be divided amongst those most impacted to help with medical expenses and with whatever is needed to get them through this horrific time.

The strength displayed by Sabor a Mi is admirable and they aren't going to let this random, senseless act keep them down. They need to regroup and rebuild and then will come back stronger than ever to bring their amazing tacos and birria to their fans. Their truck as well as some of their equipment was badly damaged by the gunfire.

“It's not in our culture to give up and the community has been so overwhelming with support, telling us not to quit doing what we love,” they said. “Once we rebuild we plan to just keep going strong, to keep serving the community and to move past this tragedy.”

Friends, if you can help financially, please do, if not, please keep these innocent victims in your prayers. Most importantly if you were in the area or have any information that can bring the perpetrators to justice, contact the Mesa police department.

Stay safe, love your neighbors and know that each and every one of us has the power to make this a better, more peaceful world.

Please donate here: GO FUND ME