Highlights & Happenings
8
Esmeralda, one of our beneficiaries in this community, is a 29-year-old mother of two children ages one and four. She and her husband barely survive on less than $10 a day earned from working at a nearby greenhouse. They work six days a week from dawn to dusk. She is one of thousands who line up every two weeks to receive a food bag from Feed the Hungry. These supplies offer a good variety of food to provide nutrition for the whole family. She also participates in our Early Childhood Nutrition program, which provides sustenance for children who have been weaned but are not yet in school. In addition to providing meals to both the mothers and their children, the program is set up to diagnose and monitor the children’s conditions as well as educate the mothers about proper nutrition through informational workshops. Esmeralda and her children present with conditions of malnutrition. She is surprised that her baby eats so much, yet is underweight. She has committed to following cooking and recipe instructions from our chefs and nutritionists for six months, and we hope Highlights & Happenings Highlights & Happenings Highlights & Happenings that with the food and education we provide, that and she and her children will become healthier. She depends on the food bag from Feed the Hungry for grains and plant-based protein. She, like many of her neighbors, can rarely afford to eat animal-based protein. She does not have a refrigerator. Propane gas is expensive, so she cooks with wood when she can’t afford to buy gas. Her boss at the greenhouse lets her and her coworkers pick the “quelites” to bring home to feed her children for a source of iron. Quelites is a Nahuatl word that means “edible weed”; they grow where a lot of irrigation takes place. There are currently 20 mothers and 23 infants that benefit from the Early Childhood Nutrition program in La Cuadrilla. And until schools closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Feed the Hungry served 115 meals a day to students at the kinder and the elementary school, as well as to the adolescents attending tele-secundaria. We hope to resume providing hot lunches there when classes return to a normal schedule and we can reopen the school kitchen. Please continue to support our mission so families like Esmeralda’s have nutritious food to sustain them. La Cuadrilla is a rural community of 584 inhabitants (INEGI 2020 census) in 142 households. Fewer than half of the dwellings have toilets or sanitary facilities. The average level of schooling is 7 years. A COMMUNITY WE SUPPORT FeedTheHungrySMA FEEDTHEHUNGRYSMA.ORG FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA Vol.4 Issue 4 OCT-DEC 2021
Transcript of Highlights & Happenings
Esmeralda, one of our beneficiaries in this community, is a 29-year-old mother of two children ages one and four. She and her husband barely survive on less than $10 a day earned from working at a nearby greenhouse. They work six days a week from dawn to dusk.
She is one of thousands who line up every two weeks to receive a food bag from Feed the Hungry. These supplies offer a good variety of food to provide nutrition for the whole family. She also participates in our Early Childhood Nutrition program, which provides sustenance for children who have been weaned but are not yet in school. In addition to providing meals to both the mothers and their children, the program is set up to diagnose and monitor the children’s conditions as well as educate the mothers about proper nutrition through informational workshops.
Esmeralda and her children present with conditions of malnutrition. She is surprised that her baby eats so much, yet is underweight. She has committed to following cooking and recipe instructions from our chefs and nutritionists for six months, and we hope
Highlights & HappeningsHighlights & HappeningsHighlights & Happenings
that with the food and education we provide, that and she and her children will become healthier.
She depends on the food bag from Feed the Hungry for grains and plant-based protein. She, like many of her neighbors, can rarely afford to eat animal-based protein. She does not have a refrigerator. Propane gas is expensive, so she cooks with wood when she can’t afford to buy gas. Her boss at the greenhouse lets her and her coworkers pick the “quelites” to bring home to feed her children for a source of iron. Quelites is a Nahuatl word that means “edible weed”; they grow where a lot of irrigation takes place.
There are currently 20 mothers and 23 infants that benefit from the Early Childhood Nutrition program in La Cuadrilla. And until schools closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Feed the Hungry served 115 meals a day to students at the kinder and the elementary school, as well as to the adolescents attending tele-secundaria. We hope to resume providing hot lunches there when classes return to a normal schedule and we can reopen the school kitchen. Please continue to support our mission so families like Esmeralda’s have nutritious food to sustain them.
La Cuadrilla is a rural community of 584 inhabitants (INEGI 2020 census) in 142 households. Fewer than half of the dwellings have toilets or sanitary facilities. The average level of schooling is 7 years.
A COMMUNITY WE SUPPORT
FeedTheHungrySMA
FEEDTHEHUNGRYSMA.ORG
FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA
Vol.4 Issue 4 OCT-DEC 2021
Kiloton is a powerful word. It is typically understood as a measurement of energy and destructive power. But for us, it represents something much more positive: the massive amount of food we have packaged and dispensed to battle hunger.
The Feed the Families program was launched in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 emergency, when thousands of already impoverished families lost their sources of income and were in dire need of help. The one thousand metric tons of food provided to struggling families in the San Miguel de Allende municipality represents more than 13,000,000 meals and a lifeline for more than 20,000 people.
While our traditional focus has been providing nutrition to school-aged children, the Early Childhood Nutrition program, which addresses the needs of children under the age of four, expanded to seven communities during the pandemic. Three more communities will be receiving the benefits of the program this year.
Although public schools have reopened, classes are only in the morning, and attended by just half of the student population per day. We are working on an amended school nutrition program that might be feasible during this transition period. It will be an unprecedented challenge for us to manage three distinct meal programs: school lunches, Feed the Family food bags, and the Early Childhood Nutrition program.
Every two weeks, Feed the Hungry delivers food bags to 37 communities. In addition, 24 other NGOs and community advocates pick up food bags from the Feed the Hungry Center to distribute to their beneficiaries.
Needless to say, our personnel and budgets are stretched thin. But with your support and the hard work of our incredible teams, we plan to continue doing all that we can to help our neighbors avoid starvation.
Over the past 18 months, Feed the Hungry has delivered more than a metric kiloton of food through our Feed the Families initiative, providing essential nutrition for thousands of desperate families.
President´s Letter
FeedTheHungrySMA
FEEDTHEHUNGRYSMA.ORG
FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA
P. 2
Al Kocourek
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we have been able to provide food bags for the following groups and individuals to distribute to their beneficiaries as well, extending our reach beyond the communities we deliver to.
Casa Hogar Mexiquito boys orphanageCasa Hogar Santa Julia girls orphanageIREE special needs schoolALMA nursing homeS.O.M.E. (So Others May Eat)C.A.S.A. de la LomaGuardians de GuadianaSisters of Las MonjasRancho Viejo KinderAgua Salada CommunityBegoña del Progreso CommunityMoral de Puerto de Nieto Community
EEESMA school for the deafCentro Infantil de Los AngelesMujeres en CambioED CaminosMano AmigaJC3 CommunityCarmen Delzell – delivers 240 bags monthlyJoy Rockwell and Mary Finley – delivered 425 bags Vicky Moore – delivered 54 bags monthlyLes Pearson – delivers 60 bags monthlyBen and Lori Green – delivered 40 bags monthlyJoyce Meyers – delivers 8 bags monthly
In late March of 2020, a group of mostly expats in the Ojo de Agua colonia started a food pantry (despensa) to help neighbors who were suffering hardship due to reduced or complete loss of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ojo de Agua is a diverse community not far from the San Miguel de Allende historic district. There are older homes, some with three generations of family living together. There are also newer homes occupied by a global mix of expatriates and Mexican nationals. Recognizing the need to quickly help their struggling neighbors, a Food Committee was formed, led by Mary Finley. They coordinated the logistics and distribution of the despensas. During the first two months, they purchased all of the dry goods, fresh produce, eggs, and other sundries (tooth brushes, toothpaste, shampoo, etc.) and distributed them to 15 families consisting of 68 individuals.
In late May of that year, they learned that they could get help from Feed the Hungry San Miguel. Beginning in June, they began picking up bags of food at the Feed the Hungry Center for bi-weekly distribution. They supplemented the food bags with fresh items such as limes, potatoes, onions, fruit, and eggs, as well as other sundries as needed. They eventually moved to a monthly program, and by the time they ended the distributions one year later in June 2021, they were feeding 19 families. The recipients were ever so grateful for the support they received.
In addition to providing food, the group initiated weekly English lessons for the kids and some of the parents on Saturday mornings. They did that work for about four months (September - December 2020), until the volunteers became concerned with the rising cases of COVID. They also hosted outdoor movie nights for the kids.
Currently, neighbors are working side-by-side to help clean up and repair the 400-year-old capilla (chapel), which is the heart of the community. The church plaza is where the actual “ojo de agua” is located.
Key volunteers with the food distribution project were Mary Finley, Randy Kremlacek, Joy Sablatura, Dena Cruz, Robert Stolebarger, Patricia Schacke, and Brad Rockwell.
NEIGHBORSHELPINGNEIGHBORS
FeedTheHungrySMA
FEEDTHEHUNGRYSMA.ORG
FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA
During Difficult Times
P. 3
Our work brought us much closer to our Mexican neighbors; we all know each other better (on a first name basis) and I feel that the extranjeros in the group feel much more integrated in the community. We are all blessed to have such wonderful neighbors,” said Mary.
Grateful for having a new dining room at her school, student Maria Paola Rangel Zuleta expressed that “It is an historic moment for our school and community,” as she and her colleagues will be able to eat in a suitable space, instead of in their classrooms.
Thanks to Arq. Rafael and his entire team of designers, builders, and donors, this dream is now a reality.
P. 4
FeedTheHungrySMA
FEEDTHEHUNGRYSMA.ORG
FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA
On September 10, a sparkling new kitchen and dining room at the “México Creo en Tí” elementary school in the community of La Medina was inaugurated. Materials and labor were generously donated by Arquitecto Rafael Franco. Franco offers his professional expertise as an architect to our organization and has already built cooking and dining facilities at our school kitchens in Nuevo Cimatario, Palo Colorado, Alonzo Yáñez, Salitrillo, and Nuevo Pantoja!
Representatives from Feed the Hungry were joined at the opening ceremony by the Magisterium of the Secretariat of Education of Guanajuato (SEG) Jorge Enrique Hernandez; Maestra Monserrat Bataller Sala, Secretaría de Educación de Guanajuato SEG; and Francisco Garay, Director of Economic Development. The Gobierno Municipal de San Miguel de Allende was represented by the interim mayor of the city, Gonzalo González.
Now, 17 kindergarten and 40 elementary school children have a clean, modern, comfortable new building in which to eat breakfast and lunch provided by Feed the Hungry.
Lic. Rodolfo Prieto Nieto (L) from Secretaria de Educacion Guanajuato and Arq. Rafael Franco (R) donor and builder of the kitchen and dining room at “Mexico Creo en Ti” elementary school.New Facilities for
FeedTheHungrySMA
FEEDTHEHUNGRYSMA.ORG
FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA
Visit our Facebook @FeedtheHungrySMA on October 23 when we will be going LIVE from Viñedo Dos Búhos in San Miguel de Allende as participants complete their challenges. A Feed the Hungry/Amistad Canada team is participating under the Scotia Bank of Toronto Waterfront Marathon. An in-person walk in San Miguel de Allende is scheduled for October 24; you are welcome to join us at Viñedo San Lucas.
Some of the participants who will be challenging themselves to walk, run, or bike to support the campaign include: Gerry Teldon, 97 year old challenger of the 3k walk. Mtra. Olivia Muñiz Rogriguez and Jessie Harper, challenger of the 5k walk with her family. Amy Alexander, challenger of the 10k walk with her family. Lockwood Dempster, challenger of the 21k bike with his family. Dr. Alex Montaño and Fox Carmody, challenger of 10k walk with his family. Bruce Sarbit, Celia Sarbit and Sheree Boyer, challenger of the 5k walk in the Amistad Canada team with ScotiaBank.
To show your support for the challengers, please donate at feedthehungrysma.org. Amistad Canada supporters can kindly donate by going to https://bit.ly/ACandFTHTeam
Watch Our SupportersWalk / Run / Bikefor Food! The goal of this October campaign is to raise US$100,000 to continue funding our Feed the Families program, which provides life-saving nutrition for 20,000 San Miguelenses affected by the pandemic.
Gerry Teldon
P. 5
Many thanks to our volunteers and corporate sponsors:
FeedTheHungrySMA
FEEDTHEHUNGRYSMA.ORG
FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA
P. 6
Initially, masks were distributed with the food bags that we dispense in 37 communities. A large-scale distribution at key points throughout the city was then designed with the coordination of Francisco Garay from Desarrollo Economico, and NGOs. This effort included distribution of 100,000 face masks given to public markets and shops, 200,000 to public transportation, 27,000 to the elderly via DIF, masks for personnel at the general hospital and inmates of the CERESO, as well as cleaning crews and members of ecology from the city.
Most recently, 288,000 face masks were donated to the schools in our District, Region 1 – North of San Miguel de Allende. Thanks to the collaboration between the city and the delegate of the education district, Mtra Montserrat Bataller Sala, more than 1,000 schools in our district received face masks for the students and teachers of each school. The delivery of the face masks for the schools started on August 30 at the local COMUDE community center, where more than 85 school representatives showed up in a two-hour period to receive their lot. “We wish
a good back-to-school, not letting our guard down. Please use the face masks and follow the sanitation guidelines,” Steve Livingston, treasurer of Feed the Hungry commented to the audience.
Mtra Montserrat, Regional Delegate for North Education, thankful for the support and donation, said, “Education never stopped and at this moment, we carry out a strategy with maintenance and cleaning of the schools, and training for teachers and parents. A safe return to school is our priority.” She reported that more than 3 million pesos have been invested in maintenance of schools in San Miguel de Allende during the pandemic period.
Educational authorities pointed out the importance of maintaining empathy, commitment, and responsibility in the face of the challenges of the new educational normality. The attending teachers agreed that accurate planning, reinforcement of preventative actions, and application of sanitary measures can help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Feed the Hungry is coordinating distribution of 1.2 million face masks donated by Motus Automotive, and CAM a Stanley Black and Decker Company.
Face Masksfor aSafer Community
Feed the Hungry’s “Back to School” fundraiser will be active through the end of the year: https://bit.ly/2021BackToSchoolFtH
Visit our Video Gallery!SEE FEED THE HUNGRY IN ACTION
feedthehungrysma.org/video-gallery
FeedTheHungrySMA
FEEDTHEHUNGRYSMA.ORG
FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA
P. 7
Feed The Hungry A.C.’sNew President
Jennifer Venkatraman has stepped up to a new role as president of Feed the Hungry A.C. Jennifer was previously a member of our Advisory Council and also served as vice president of the A.C. She is a corporate legal professional with many years of business and legal experience ranging from contracts and intellectual property to company policies and risk management. Feed the Hungry A.C. is a Mexican registered charitable company (Asociación Civil) that manages the operating program and allows for tax-deductible donations in Mexico.
The president of Feed the Hungry A.C. oversees the A.C. Board, which proposes operating budgets and maintains contact and compliance with Mexican government entities.
The president also oversees operations, which is managed by the Meals Program Director. This includes operations for the School Meals Program and the Early Childhood Nutrition Program and a staff of 11 employees which includes kitchen supervisors, a head chef, a nutrition manager, a program administrator, a warehouse manager, and maintenance personnel. Additionally, supervision of 24 hired cooks supported by 56 volunteer moms who operate our school kitchens, and management of the Feed the Families Emergency Response Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Feed the Hungry San Miguel, Inc. Board of TrusteesAl Kocourek – President
Michael Gerber – SecretarySteve Livingston – Treasurer
Joan Nagelkirk – Strategic PlanningJonna Stratton – Volunteer Coordinator
Kathryn West – Human ResourcesMike Taylor
Advisory CouncilTony Adlerbert · Mario Bravo · Pat Donnelly · Bodo Eichler
Howard Gleason · Diane Largman · Pablo Marvin · Eng. Gifford Moody ·Dianne Walta Hart · Carol Weicker
Feed the Hungry San Miguel, A.C.Board of Trustees
Jennifer Venkatraman – PresidentFrancis Bonilla – Vice President
Michael Gerber – SecretarySteve Livingston – Treasurer
We are happy to announce that Mike Taylor will be joining our team! Mike has lived in San Miguel de Allende since 2005. He has done extensive charitable work in San Miguel, including contributing a home to Casita Linda, and as a supporter and volunteer with Feed the Hungry for more than two years.
His profession for the last 35 years has been as an engineer and as a software architect and fellow at Ultimate Software in Weston, Florida. He and his partner currently own the Hecho Hombre barbershops and Hecho SMA product store in San Miguel.
Welcome Mike Taylor to the Feed the Hungry, Inc. Board of Trustees
Feed the Hungry San Miguel, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) U.S. non-profit corporation guided by a dedicated Board of Trustees,supported by a small, professional staff and a corps of exceptional volunteers.
Feed the Hungry San Miguel, Inc. raises funds and provides guidelines to its Mexican operating entity,Feed the Hungry A.C. Amistad Canada is our partner for donations from Canadian residents.
Donations are tax-deductible in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
Contact Us: (+52) 415 152 2402 / [email protected]
FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA FeedTheHungrySMA
DO YOU ENJOY HIGHLIGHTS & HAPPENINGS?
We welcome feedback about our newsletter,so that we can make it even more informative.
If you have suggestions for articles or other comments, please email me:
It would also be helpful to learn if you read thenewsletter online or in print.
If in print, where you picked up a copy.
Thank you! Donna Fullerton, Managing Editor
By donating to Feed the Hungry, you are contributing health, hope, and opportunity to disadvantaged communities in the San Miguel de Allende municipality.
Feed the Hungry San Miguel has provided hot meals at school kitchens, benefiting as many as 5,000 disadvantaged children every school day. With our school kitchens closed due to the pandemic, we are now providing critical nutritional support for more than 20,000 hungry residents of all ages through our Feed the Families Emergency Response program.
Our funding needs have doubled to over US$1,200,000 per year. Despite the contributions from our wonderful supporters, we are still left with an operating deficit. Your donations can help us keep our commitment to warding off starvation and malnutrition among thousands of San Miguelenses.
MAKE A DONATION For a US tax deduction:Donate by check payable to Feed the Hungry San Miguel, Inc. Mail to Feed the Hungry at either of the following addresses:
Feed the Hungry San Miguel c/o La ConexiónAldama #3 San Miguel de Allende 37700 Guanajuato, Mexico
Feed the Hungry San Miguel Box 636220 N. Zapata Hwy, Suite 11 Laredo, TX 78043-4464, USA
Or make an online donation: feedthehungrysma.org
For a Mexican tax deduction: Donate by check payable to Feed the Hungry, A.C. Mail to Feed the Hungry at either of the addresses listed above.
For a Canadian tax deduction:Donate by check payable to Amistad Canada and note“Feed the Hungry Project” on the memo line. Mail to Amistad Canada:
7 Highbourne Road Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5P 2J1
Or make an online donation: amistadcanada.org/donate
MAKE A LEGACY GIFT Please consider Feed the Hungry as a beneficiary when planning your will. Through Planned Giving, you can make a lifelong impact on the lives of children in economically disadvantaged communities. Visit feedthehungrysma.org/how-to-help/planned-giving/ to learn more.
SPONSOR A SCHOOL KITCHEN We encourage individuals, families, friends, coworkers, and businesses to consider the incredible good that can be done by sponsoring a specific school kitchen. Visit feedthehungrysma.org/how-to-help/school-kitchen-sponsorship/ to learn more.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
For more information please [email protected]
