World-record 400-foot Cuban sandwich claimed in Palm City

PALM CITY, Fla. — Two metro areas in Florida, Tampa and Miami, boast they have the best Cuban sandwich, but Palm City in Martin County now claims to have built the world's longest one.

Community members produced a 400-foot-long sandwich at Justin Wilson Memorial Park on Sandpiper Way in Palm City. The previous record was 365 feet, set in Tampa in 2024.

The event, called "Bite Into History: The Longest Cuban Sandwich Ever Made," was a joint effort of Old Havana Cafe at 2225 SE Ocean Blvd. and the nonprofit House of Hope, which serves Martin County.

Organizers said it was intended to call attention to issues of food insecurity in the area, foster community spirit and celebrate Hispanic heritage.

Members of the public could purchase sandwiches.

The event's presenting sponsor, the Doris M. Carter Family Foundation, pledged to double every donor's impact in the community by matching every donation made through the event up to $15,000.

Founded in 1984, House of Hope is a nonprofit organization that empowers Martin County residents to overcome hunger and hardship. House of Hope touches the lives of more than 30,000 people each month, helping with basic needs such as food, clothing, furniture, financial assistance, as well as longer-term case management services.

The organization has service centers in Stuart, Hobe Sound, Indiantown and Jensen Beach, with thrift stores in Stuart, Hobe Sound and Indiantown.

House of Hope also operates the Growing Hope Farm in Palm City and several nutrition gardens that provide sustainable sources of fresh produce for clients as well as nutrition education and vocational opportunities to the community.

A Cuban sandwich, or a cubano, is ham, roasted pork, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard and sometimes salami on Cuban bread.

There is a rivalry between Tampa and Miami over which city claims the sandwich as its own. In 2012, the Tampa City Council named it the city's official "signature sandwich."

Around the 1900s, cafes in Ybor City and nearby West Tampa sold the sandwiches to immigrant workers who were part of the cigar factories.

By the 1960s, Cuban sandwiches were common in Miami with a large influx of Cuban residents after Fidel Castro's 1959 rise to power in their native land.

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