La Cruz Food Pantry

FINAL Update from the La Cruz Food Pantry!

When we began our efforts to help our neighbors through the pandemic, we said “The happiest day will be when we can go out of business.” Well, after 19 months, life has mostly returned to normal (or the new normal) in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. COVID numbers are down and folks have been and continue to be vaccinated. People are busy working, tourists and snowbirds have returned, and our schools have finally reopened.

We watched and monitored the need in town throughout the summer, and were glad to see the need for despensas was on a continual decline. Based on that, we targeted the first week in November (the beginning of the high season) as our end date. And on Friday, November 5th, we made our final official deliveries to the last 18 families. All were incredibly thankful for the assistance – and shared with us kind notes and handmade gifts. There are still a handful of elderly folks with extremely limited family support, and a few of us will keep in touch with them and continue to help them in the months ahead.

As many of you know, this summer’s rainy season brought severe flooding with Hurricanes Pamela and Rick. Fortunately, La Cruz was spared from the worst damage, but many nearby areas were devastated and The Pantry was able to provide despensas to some of those people in need. The incredible Marichuy and family can always be counted on to coordinate, collect and deliver relief supplies – and a huge thank you to all of the generous donors of money, clothing and household goods.

La Cruz Food Pantry by the numbers:
83 weeks of deliveries
10,638 pantries assembled and distributed
over 50 tons of food (conservative estimate!) distributed
over 85 incredible volunteers (nationals, expats, and visitors)
Muchisimas Gracias!

We (Tim and Mark) are just one small part of the amazing organizing group that led this effort – Marichuy Ortega Gonzalez, Alfredo Jiménez, Cirilo Osorio Muńiz, Annette Daniels, Kiki Cheung, Erin Quinn, and Fiona MacNichol-Clark. Abrazos Grandes to the entire team for your dedication and friendship.

Special thanks to Line Bureau – whose boundless service to the people of La Cruz is uplifting and inspiring.

Special thanks to Maiko Maritnez and family at Mar y Sol Minisuper – who donated warehouse space, resources and countless hours working with us. Your participation was instrumental to our success - and the powerful fans, delicious rehydrating juices and infectious music made the work fun!

Special thanks to Elinor Craig for heading up the La Cruz Pet Pantry. They raised money separately and made sure that our four-legged friends also had enough to eat during these trying times. We were happy to work side-by-side and deliver their “despensas” along with ours.

To the artists, entertainers, and local entrepreneurs who donated their time and amazing talents to help us fundraise - Thank you! Your unbelievable generosity gave so much to the people of our little town – we will always be incredibly grateful.

To our tireless volunteers – you truly made this effort possible. In the heat and humidity, the sun and the rain, you showed up week after week with boundless energy, unflagging enthusiasm and huge smiles. There are too many of you to thank individually and we would hate to miss anyone – but in the coming weeks, we hope to see you around town and thank you personally.

And to the donors here in La Cruz and around the world, you were always there when we needed you and we are forever grateful for your boundless generosity that helped the people of our pueblo. We ceased fundraising back in January and have carefully used all of the GoFundMe, PayPal, Zelle, local exfer and cash donations. Some months back, Fiona, who collected Canadian e-transfers from our friends to the north, asked her donors if some of those funds could be used for other La Cruz projects -- including the community garden and the local schools. This week, 9 air conditioners were purchased (at Buen Fin prices – that’s our Black Friday sale) thrilling the teachers at the Primaria and the El Mangal Jardin de Ninos. Installation has already begun. (Schools are back in session, although the children attend in shifts to keep class sizes down to 10 students – while not in school, the students do their homework on WhatsApp.)

We cannot say it enough – to all of you, Muchisimas Gracias!

We started this project with the words….
“If you ask us why we love Mexico, our answer comes immediately – the PEOPLE!”

While we are now finished with official La Cruz Food Pantry operations, we will always be here for our friends and neighbors in this magical place we are privileged to call home. We know you will be too. Because, if we’ve learned one thing these past 19 months, it’s…

Juntos Somos Fuertes! (Together we are strong)

𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘇 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 – 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟱𝟳 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

Hello All! It’s been some time since we put out a Pantry update, but since late January we’ve been quietly keeping on! For those of you who are further north and enjoying Spring (to some degree), here’s what we’ve been up to. For those of you still in beautiful La Cruz, please read to the bottom and we can soon use your capable helping hands once again.

Spring in our area comes with rising humidity and increasing haze. It may still be a month until the first rains, but when they come our dry and dusty town will become vibrant green once again. Today – offshore – we find the first hurricane of the season (quite early), but it is not expected to bring any rain to Nayarit.

Our state turned a different shade of GREEN recently – according to the Mexican COVID stop-light system. Although people are worried that numbers may be under-reported, people are optimistic and adjusting to the new normal. Precautions in stores and restaurants remain good to excellent – and overall, we know that our outdoor lifestyle has been the prime driver in keeping the pandemia under control locally.

Vaccination has been slow in Mexico, but local Nayarit seniors are expecting their second shots this week and inoculations for the 50s group will begin soon in Puerto Vallarta. A few weeks ago, teachers were vaccinated and public schools will probably start up again in August. For so many of us, but particularly the kids, 2020 is a great big do-over.

Economically, we have seen the Bahia construction boom continue throughout the year – if you didn’t visit in 2020, you will be amazed by all the new development you will see next fall. Plenty of public works projects have torn up the streets and highways as well. There are jobs available. Yet, folks who depend on the tourist economy for their employment have struggled – many looking for creative new ways to earn a little income. Stores and restaurants have limped through this long year, with many reporting that April was finally a better month. (All over the world, people are tired of staying cooped up and are desperate to travel. We’ve seen increases in vacationing Mexicans from the big cities, and, particularly with increased vaccinations, lots of newbies from the U.S. coming to our area. O Canada, we’ve missed so many of you this year.) Still, the usual nest egg (accumulated during the winter) which gets a family through to the next high season, took a huge hit in 2020-21 and it’s meager.

In late January, we halted fundraising and ended our regular Friday pickup operations for providing despensas. However, our Pantry group has many eyes and ears around town and we are doing our best to make sure that we stay in touch with those who genuinely need some assistance. We continue to visit a smaller number of families each week - providing our bag of rice and beans, oil and flour for tortillas, lentils, tuna, oatmeal, pasta, and more. These folks are mostly elderly and have their challenges. Two have been hospitalized, one currently has a broken arm, and two have special needs children. Another man lost his job due to COVID and one lady only had a tablecloth for a roof – fear not, she has since moved to better shelter before the rains begin. Albeit a bit more low-key, we continue our mission to make sure no one in La Cruz goes hungry and we will see our neighbors in need through to what hopefully will be a busy high season next fall. If our funds run dry, we will ask you for more – but for now, we are good with this low-key approach and our quieter presence in town.

If you are still in town, we could use your help this week. The mountain of despensas you helped build the last time we got together has been whittled away. So, we’re going to make another (smaller) supply for the next month or two. If you’re able, please come and help us this Thursday, May 13th, at 9am – in our usual place. It will be great to be together again – the music will be hopping and our feet will be bopping!

𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚... we’ve planned a town-wide arroyo cleanup for this Sunday, May 16th, from 9 to 11 am. Let’s keep the garbage from washing into our beautiful bay before the rains come in June. We’re trying to get as many townsfolk and kids to join in as possible. Spread the word and you can help pass out bags, water, gloves, etc. See the flyers below! Let us know if you can help out in one of our three areas.

Wherever you are, whether you’ve ever visited or not, we thank you for your interest and support of our town and this project. We appreciate your love for the people of this special place. We remain a committed group of Mexicans, Canadians, Estadounidenses, and a few other nationalities – here and abroad. Together, all of us are dedicated to keeping La Cruz de Huanacaxtle safe, happy and healthy.

#𝙅𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙨𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙁𝙪𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙨

Week 39 & 40 Update

Feliz Año Nuevo from La Cruz de Huanacaxtle!

On January 8th, the volunteers of the La Cruz Food Pantry distributed 106 weekly despensas – and this past Friday morning, we passed out 107 more.

Although the locals say this is “the coldest winter in memory,” it hits the high 70s by midday and the lucky sun worshippers are still slathering on the sunscreen daily.

To start the New Year off right, we enjoyed a wonderful evening concert from the extremely gifted and charming violinist Diego Mondragon, who volunteered to raise money for the Food Pantry at the Tree House Bar and Grill. Muchísimas Gracias, Señor, for your incredible generosity and sharing your amazing talents!

Over the holidays, La Cruz (The Cross) de Huanacaxtle was remounted in the middle of town. During a torrential storm this summer, it was knocked from its perch. It feels good to have it back up – a sign that things are a little more normal in these uncertain times.

This past week, our organizing group met (twice!) to discuss the immediate future of the Food Pantry. We ultimately decided to temporarily suspend our fundraising efforts for now and temporarily pause our weekly despensas as of the end of January. Here’s why…

When the Pantry project began in early April, we originally planned to help our neighbors through the economic devastation of the summer low season and get them to the next high season in November. But as COVID rates continued to climb worldwide, we continued through the year-end holidays to see what would happen to the tourist economy of the Bahia de Banderas.

Over the two weeks including Christmas and New Years, we saw many visitors arrive in town – lots of Mexican families from Guadalajara, vacationers from the north, and professionals planning longer stays to work remotely. Undoubtedly, COVID fatigue has set in everywhere and understandably, people want to be here. For some this is good news, bringing much needed pesos to the area – for others, it brings the fear of contagion and increased risk.

The overall picture is complicated. There is the promise of vaccines (Nayarit began inoculations this week for essential workers). Canada and now the US both require negative COVID tests before international travelers can enter. Vallarta hospital beds jumped to 100% capacity just after the holidays, so everyone is reminded to be extra careful and distance, sanitize and wear a mask. And last week, the governors of Nayarit and Jalisco issued new regulations designed to keep people from large gatherings for several weeks.

Nevertheless, La Cruz has been incredibly lucky so far. Currently, the grapevine reports only three COVID cases quarantining in town – among expats with mild or no symptoms. We hear that La Cruz is the only municipality in the Bay area where petty crime has decreased. The economy in town is by no means strong, and while it is clearly a different high season than in years past, there is definitely a continuing uptick. Visitors have returned in significant numbers and the resilience of the Mexican people is shining through. We’ve noted an increased number of pop-up restaurants around town. A group of enterprising women bake banana bread by day and head to the plaza in the evening to sell their wares. We haven’t had the pleasure yet, but we are told it is delicious! Others are selling tortillas, muffins or dried pumpkin seeds to raise a little more cash. Some folks have taken on a second job to make up for lost hours. And most importantly, there are “help wanted” ads in our area. In short, jobs are available – and on balance, our group decided that it was time to temporarily pause our weekly deliveries. We never intended the Pantry to become a permanent welfare program, and as a result we have been tightening our numbers all along to make sure that every donated dollar, loonie and peso goes to feed truly hungry people.

Although the economic situation is better now than it has been for months, our front line volunteers will continue to keep an eye on our neighbors – particularly the older folks; and we have set aside a supply of despensas so that we can continue to make sure that no one in La Cruz goes hungry. Looking to the future, we are very concerned about the coming low season. Unfortunately, we are certain that folks will again need help getting through the summer and it is inevitable that we will resume our weekly distribution as we head into the low season.

Although the Food Pantry will be less busy for a couple of months, the Pantry volunteers have other projects up their sleeves! El Jardin Communitario is a huge success! The plot is fenced in, the tool shed is painted and the hard working families of La Cruz are now taking the lead. In a little over six weeks, the garden is already producing fresh veggies in abundance! Last Tuesday evening, every family went home with a huge delicious salad. The original organizers are ready to move on and create a second – and third! – garden in other colonias to get more townspeople involved – stay tuned!

School too is on our radar. While two Mexican states are attempting to restart in-classroom learning, our local kids aren’t expected back to their desks until the end of August. When they return, the facilities will need major upkeep. Hand sanitizing stations will be needed in every classroom; because, even with vaccines – masks, sanitization and distancing are likely to be part of daily life for years.

To all of you – Muchísimas Gracias! The volunteer energy -- and donor energy -- that has kept the La Cruz Food Pantry thriving is high. And we know that when La Cruz calls, we will all be there to help. We simply can’t thank you enough.



P.S. And let’s hear it for the creative artists who painted the door to one of our town’s two Nursery-Kindergarten buildings – check it out on Avenida de la Langosta just off the town plaza! Gracias Amigos!

Today, Saturday, October 31st, please join us (in person or virtually) for a Halloween fundraiser at The Tree House Bar & Grill. With your help, we will boost our funds to take us into the New Year.

It will be an extraordinary evening filled with the music of:
Vania Guzman, Tatewari, Brimstone Band, and Dwight Blake. And there might just be a few other surprises too. If you are in La Cruz, join us in person for the socially distant fun (bring your cubreboca)!

If you are further away – no worries – we will be live-streaming the festivities from The Tree House Bar & Grill.

We need your support to continue helping our neighbors. Please be as generous as you can and share the special place that is La Cruz de Huanacaxtle with all your contacts, friends and family.

Mark your calendar for tomorrow, Saturday, October 31st.
Music starts at 6:00pm, doors open at 5:00.
$250 peso cover charge goes to the La Cruz Food Pantry.
And of course we will gladly accept additional donations.

And don’t forget, every $100 dollar donation (US or CAD) gets an entry in Chris & Cindy’s Thanksgiving fundraiser to win 3 nights at the extraordinary Villa Amor del Mar.
https://www.villaamordelmar.com/win-3-nights-at-villa-amor-del-mar/

To Donate:
– GoFundMe – www.gofundme.com/LaCruzFoodPantry
– PayPal or Zelle – send to [email protected]
– Canadian exfer – contact Fiona at [email protected]
– Mex exfer – contact us at [email protected]
– Physical donations – Tree House Bar & Grill

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘀 𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗷𝗼𝘀

Cuando entregamos Despensas en La Cruz, nos enteramos de muchas personas que buscan trabajo.

Recientemente, conocimos a un padre soltero con un niño de tres años que buscaba trabajo. Es un camarero con gran actitud, interesado en cualquier tipo de trabajo.

Si puede ayudar, comuníquese con 𝗟𝗮𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘇𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗣𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆@𝗴𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 y lo pondremos en contacto.

Si está buscando trabajo o tiene una oportunidad para alguien, puede enviarnos un correo electrónico.

Conectando personas y empleos en estos tiempos difíciles...
#𝗝𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘀𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗙𝘂𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘀

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀

As we deliver Despensas in La Cruz, we learn of many people looking for work.

Recently, we met a single father with a three-year-old looking for a job. He is a waiter with a great attitude, interested in any type of job.

If you can help, contact 𝗟𝗮𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘇𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗣𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆@𝗴𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 and we will put you in touch.

If you are looking for work or have an opportunity for someone, you can send us an email.

Connecting People and Jobs in these tough times....
#𝗝𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘀𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗙𝘂𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘀

We need more volunteers for Friday mornings! If you can help, please send us a message. Spanish speakers would be amazing!

¡Necesitamos más voluntarios para los viernes por la mañana! Si puede ayudar, envíenos un mensaje por favor. Gracias!

Thank you so very much to everyone who contributed.

With contributions from many Chris and I raised enough money to feed kind folks in need in La Cruz for one month plus. 😷 Gracias a todos!! 💖 Thank you all. 🙏

Big day today! Around 300 deliveries happening by 5 teams! Have fun everyone ❤️!

(𝘌𝘴𝘱𝘢ñ𝘰𝘭 𝘈𝘣𝘢𝘫𝘰)

𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘇 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆
𝗗𝗮𝘆 19 (𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼), 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 3

La Cruz is quiet. It’s always quiet, but now there are noticeably fewer folks out and about. The vibe is much more like sleepy mid-summer, although we’re just past Semana Santa and should still have hundreds here enjoying the perfect weather. Thankfully, we see more masks on more people each day. It’s hard to smile at your neighbors in a mask – but an “Hola” and a “thumbs up” works well too.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁
We started with 26 names, added 19 more, and quickly grew to 50 families. Jumped to 88 families for Week 2. Later this week, we will deliver to more than 150 families. When a truck full of food goes out on the street, folks come around and ask if they can be on the list, or name a neighbor or family member who needs help.

On Monday, when the Tree House Bar and Grill opened at 4pm for takeout, there was a crowd outside. Marichuy spread the line down the block (social distancing!) and patiently collected their information. 79 new families! On Tuesday, 25 more! We are growing very fast, but we are up to the task -- thanks to the talents and energy of our dedicated volunteers. We have more and more for you to do each day! (If anyone has any donations of canned food or dried goods, The Tree House at 68 Coral is our drop off location – after 4pm.)

𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼
(You may never have been to this part of town. Past the light at Langosta heading towards Punta de Mita, there is a bridge. The “Dry Riverbed” colonia stretches up the hill on the inland side. Thanks to Erin for this wonderful first hand account!)

It was her smile that caught my attention. Her face lit up and her brown eyes sparkled. She was about ten with a long brown pony-tail, wearing a pink polka dot t-shirt. She walked past me a few times, as we were in her neighborhood of Arroyo Seco, and she had places to go.

We had list of names and addresses, carefully compiled into a spreadsheet. The straight lines and columns of a spreadsheet can’t exactly capture the liveliness or creativity in design found in a small neighborhood barrio. The architecture runs the gamut from a two-story house with a large balcony to a semi-hut with a covered chain link fence as a wall. Some streets remain un-named. Valentin and Kiki started by finding the first address, Cirilo came with his truck full of food, and I went to talk to the lady that ran a little food stand along the arroyo seco in front of the footbridge. I thought it would be polite to explain who we were and why we had descended with two vehicles, full of bagged food, like a small band of locusts on her neighborhood. The shop lady was carving a large pumpkin and I explained that her pumpkin would definitely win a prize at Halloween. The pumpkin pieces were then set out to be sold, a great vegetable to add to a caldo soup.

The search for families in their respective homes began, and large bags of fresh vegetables and staples were personally delivered to the families on our list. Some people were very shy about receiving the “despensa,” but their gratefulness in receiving the food was clear. Each bag was beyond full, containing a variety of items. Cooking oil, flour, ground soy-bean flour, beans, rice, pasta plus tomatoes, chayote, onions, peppers. Also included were soap and toilet paper and a few canned goods. A kilo of eggs was also given out, but a few people with egg-producing hens politely said to share them with another family.

Up through the arroyo we went, stopping off at different houses, asking for directions, and finding our neighbors that were in need of food. We came ready with prepared sheets of paper that people could fill out if they were in need of food. We gave out the slips of paper and then picked up the filled-out forms on the way back down the hill. Food was distributed on Friday and many in the community were going to have a much better weekend with some food for the family and the knowledge that many people care.

On the return down the arroyo, I saw my new young friend again, and I told her that she had a beautiful smile. Her whole face brightened. It lit up the world.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀
Sewing machines are humming all over town. We’ve distributed masks with our despensas and left some for free pickup at a few local stores. Some volunteers are concentrating on making PPE supplies for the hospital in San Pancho where most local residents would go with bad symptoms. The word is the hospital has NADA.

The latest government release says that schools may reopen around June 1st – almost a month after our peak. Today’s chatter in the group is “let’s make a mask for every school child in town.” That’s hundreds of children (probably over 500 masks) but if you witnessed the energy and enthusiasm, you would not doubt that these volunteers can do anything! (If you have any cloth, sheets or elastic that can be put to good use, please contact [email protected].)

𝗟𝗼𝗮𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀
Our group is not just dedicated – it’s talented, thrifty, energetic, wise and harmonious. We are committed to keeping it simple – there are mouths to feed. We’re buying in bulk when we can (some hoarding is starting to raise prices), hitting the sales, and determined to include as many local providers in the mix as possible. We’ve passed out corn meal and oil for those who still make tortillas at home – and hope soon to include fresh tortillas for those who don’t.

We live on the beautiful Bahia de Banderas and one of the most abundant fisheries in the world. Last evening, a few of our crew were brainstorming about how best to tap into this resource, and who should walk in but one of our local fisherman with a load of 50 beautiful fresh-caught lenguados (sole).

These are for you, he said. My family needed a despensa last week. I just wanted to say Gracias.

More soon – but let’s echo that sentiment.

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘀 to all of our amazing volunteers.

And 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘀 to all our donors, here in Mexico and all over the world. Your generosity -- and the love you show for this special place -- is humbling and inspiring.

We need every one of you.

We are here for the long haul.

𝗘𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮 𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗼𝘀 𝗱𝗲 𝗟𝗮 𝗖𝗿𝘂𝘇
𝗗í𝗮 𝟭𝟵 (𝗺á𝘀 𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘀), 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗱 𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝟯
La Cruz está calladito. Siempre está tranquilo, pero ahora hay notablemente menos gente. El ambiente es mucho más como un sueño de las mil y una noches en verano, a pesar de que acabamos de pasar Semana Santa y todavía deberían de haber cientos de personas aquí disfrutando del clima perfecto. Afortunadamente, vemos más mascarillas o cubre bocas sobre la faz de más personas conforme pasan los días.Es difícil sonreírles a tus vecinos con un cubre bocas pero un "Hola" y un "pulgar hacia arriba" también funcionan bien.

𝗟𝗮 𝘃𝗼𝘇 𝗵𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗼.
Comenzamos con 26 nombres de familias y agregamos 19 más. Rápidamente crecimos a 50 familias. Saltamos a 88 familias para la Semana 2. Más adelante esta semana, entregaremos a más de 150 familias. Cuando un camión lleno de comida sale a la calle, la gente viene y pregunta si pueden estar en la lista, o nombran a un vecino o familiar que necesite ayuda.

El lunes que el Tree House Bar and Grill abrió a las 4 p.m. , había una multitud afuera. Marichuy extendió la línea por la cuadra (¡distanciamiento social! Su sana distancia) Y pacientemente recolectó su información. 79 nuevas familias! ¡El martes, 25 más! Estamos creciendo muy rápido, pero estamos a la altura de la tarea, gracias al talento y la energía de nuestros voluntarios dedicados. ¡Tenemos más y más que hacer cada día! (Si alguien tiene alguna donación de alimentos enlatados o productos secos, The Tree House at 68 Coral es nuestro lugar de entrega, después de las 4 p.m.)

𝗔𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼
(Puede que nunca hayas estado en esta parte de la ciudad. Más allá de la luz en Langosta en dirección a Punta de Mita, hay un puente. La colonia del "Cauce seco" se extiende colina arriba en el lado interior. Gracias a Erin por esta maravillosa primera crónica:

Fue su sonrisa lo que me llamó la atención. Su rostro se iluminó y sus ojos marrones brillaron. Tenía unos diez años con una larga cola de caballo marrón, con una camiseta rosa de lunares. Me pasó varias veces, ya que estábamos en su vecindario de Arroyo Seco, y tenía lugares a donde ir.

Teníamos una lista de nombres y direcciones, cuidadosamente compilada en una hoja de cálculo. Las líneas rectas y las columnas de una hoja de cálculo no pueden capturar exactamente la vivacidad o creatividad en el diseño que se encuentra en un pequeño barrio de un pueblo. La arquitectura abarca desde una casa de dos pisos con un gran balcón hasta una semi choza con una cerca de alambre cubierta como una pared. Algunas calles permanecen sin nombre. Valentin y Kiki comenzaron por encontrar la primera dirección, Cirilo vino con su camioneta llena de comida y fui a hablar con la señora que tenía un pequeño puesto de comida a lo largo del arroyo seco frente a la pasarela. Pensé que sería educado explicar quiénes éramos y por qué habíamos descendido con dos vehículos, llenos de comida en bolsas, como una pequeña banda de langostas en su vecindario. La dependienta estaba tallando una calabaza grande y le expliqué que su calabaza definitivamente ganaría un premio en Halloween. Las piezas de calabaza se pusieron a la venta, una gran verdura para agregar a una sopa de caldo.

Comenzó la búsqueda de familias en sus respectivos hogares, y se entregaron personalmente grandes bolsas de verduras frescas y alimentos básicos a las familias de nuestra lista. Algunas personas eran muy tímidas al recibir la despensa, pero su agradecimiento por recibir la comida era evidente. Cada bolsa estaba más que llena, contenía una variedad de artículos. Aceite de cocina, harina, harina de soya molida, frijoles, arroz, pasta seca, tomates, chayote, cebolla, pimientos. También se incluyeron jabón y papel higiénico y algunos productos enlatados. También se repartió un kilo de huevos, pero algunas personas con gallinas productoras de huevos dijeron cortésmente que los compartieran con otra familia.

Subimos por el arroyo, paramos en diferentes casas, preguntamos por direcciones y encontramos a nuestros vecinos que necesitaban comida. Llegamos listos con hojas de papel preparadas que las personas podrían llenar si necesitaran comida. Repartimos los pedazos de papel y luego recogimos los formularios elaborados en el camino de regreso cuesta abajo. La comida se distribuyó el viernes y muchos en la comunidad iban a tener un fin de semana mucho mejor con algo de comida para la familia y sabiendo que a muchas son personas de valor e importancia para la comunidad.

Al regresar por el arroyo, volví a ver a mi nueva joven amiga y le dije que tenía una hermosa sonrisa. Toda su cara se iluminó. Iluminaba el mundo.

𝗟𝗼𝘀 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘀
Las máquinas de coser están zumbando por toda la ciudad. Hemos distribuido mascarillas con nuestras despensas y dejamos algunas para que las recogieran gratis en algunas tiendas locales. Algunos voluntarios se están concentrando en hacer suministros de EPP para el hospital en San Pancho, donde la mayoría de los residentes locales irían con síntomas graves. La palabra es que el hospital no tiene NADA.

El último comunicado del gobierno dice que las escuelas volverán a abrir alrededor del 1 de junio, casi un mes después de nuestro pico. La charla de hoy en el grupo es "hagamos una mascarilla para cada niño en edad escolar en la ciudad". Son cientos de niños (probablemente más de 500 mascarillas), pero si fue testigo de la energía y el entusiasmo, ¡no dudaría de que estos voluntarios lo puedan hacer! (Si tiene algún retaso de tela, sábanas o elástico que se pudiera usar, comuníquese con [email protected]).

𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘆 𝗣𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀
Nuestro grupo no es solo dedicado, es talentoso, ahorrativo, enérgico, sabio y armonioso. Estamos comprometidos a mantenerlo simple: hay bocas que alimentar. Estamos comprando a granel cuando podemos (algunos acaparamientos están comenzando a aumentar los precios), alcanzando las ventas y decidimos incluir tantos proveedores locales en la mezcla como sea posible. Hemos distribuido harina de maíz y aceite para aquellos que todavía hacen tortillas en casa, y esperamos incluir pronto tortillas frescas para aquellos que no lo hacen.

Vivimos en la hermosa Bahía de Banderas y una de las pesquerías más abundantes del mundo. Anoche, algunos de nuestra tripulación estaban haciendo una lluvia de ideas sobre la mejor manera de aprovechar este recurso, y quién debería entrar, pero uno de nuestros pescadores locales con una carga de 50 hermosos lenguados recién sacados Del Mar.

Estos son para ti, dijo. Mi familia necesitaba un despensa la semana pasada. Solo quería decir gracias.

Hagamos eco de ese sentimiento.

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘀 a todos nuestros increíbles voluntarios.

Y 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘀 a todos nuestros donantes, aquí en México y en todo el mundo. Su generosidad, y el amor que muestra por este lugar especial, es noble e inspirador.

Los necesitamos a todos ustedes.

Estamos aquí a largo plazo.