A Longview-based mutual-aid effort says it collected 475 pounds of food and supplies for three local nonprofits during its latest biweekly march, a turnout organizers described as boosted by a larger-than-usual presence from the local Latin community.

The update comes from a post titled “Let Them Eat Cake” published by the Cascade Forward Project, which said volunteers also brought homemade cupcakes as a thank-you to people who have been “coming out to every march, every two weeks since April.”

According to the post, donations from the event were directed to Lower Columbia CAP, Oasis Animal Foundation, and Rainbow Community. Organizers framed the collection as a response to heightened winter needs and what they called economic strain, and said participants were “passionate about opposition to ICE.”

The post also said organizers were planning a larger protest the following Sunday with “new friends” they met at the march. The Cascade Forward Project did not provide a specific time, location, or permit status in the entry.

For Cowlitz County residents trying to keep up with the region’s patchwork of food, housing, and community-support resources, the 475-pound total is a concrete indicator of how much need — and how much volunteer capacity — is moving through informal networks right now. It also reflects an ongoing local pattern: when formal safety nets are stretched, mutual-aid groups often become a bridge between donors and nonprofits doing frontline work.

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