April 2026
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FOODBANK LAKESIDE!
6 YEARS OF SERVICE
Navigating Through Adversity Into Fulfillment
Written by Carolina Amoruso
Paula Rosa Garcia’s story has been challenging and, at the same time, integral to her work with the FoodBank Lakeside. As intake interviewer, her main responsibility is to interview and then evaluate families’ qualifications to receive a monthly despensa of food and some household items. Recipients receive their allotment at the Surtidor warehouse in Chapala. Paula also makes deliveries to recipients unable to reach the pick-up location on their own. Paula enjoys these deliveries as they allow her to meet and chat more informally with recipients.
Shortly after their arrival lakeside from Puebla where they met, Paula and her Welsh Canadian husband, John, dedicated themselves to helping the needy through faith, and they joined the Anglican Church in Ajijic. “Es pequeña, pero a ellos, les gusta ayudar,” she says of the church and its parishioners. “It’s small, but they [the parishioners] like to be of help.” Paula stops as we speak from time to time to make special note of people, organizations, members of her own family, committed to assisting the needy.
With the advent of Covid 19, the church became increasingly less able to sustain the despensas. Paula and John then became instrumental in transitioning the program, which served 21 families at the time, to FoodBank Lakeside. At around this time John fell seriously ill, and he had to return to Canada for treatment, causing the family great financial and emotional hardship. Paula confesses that in the beginning she cried a lot and felt lost. But friends and family began to help out, and she was able to give her spirits and her finances a boost by selling her home-made individual pizzas on the malecón, always with one of her two younger children in tow for company. Paula wishes each of her three children could live with her forever with their families.
After 3 years pounding the malecón—and enjoying her time outdoors meeting new people — the family was secure, and she hung up her apron. She still struggles, she says. The family even lost their home after over 10 years in La Floresta. But these difficulties are outweighed by the gratification she receives by giving.
The experience of being poverty-stricken then springing back to flourish, if not economically then in her dedication to helping others, has boosted her pride so that she can say now that she is the puente, or bridge, between the people she serves and FoodBank Lakeside. Rare is her ability to enter and serve a food- insecure community that because of extreme poverty, drugs, ties to criminal gangs, and episodes of violence, keeps most outsiders out.
Paula keeps a keen eye out on the street, and will readily approach a youngster with no shoes, begging for money or food, or washing windshields in Walmart’s parking lot. Should they live outside the program’s catchment area and prove truly needy, Paula will do her best to have the geographical limitation waived to include the family among despensa recipients.
Paula Rosa Garcia reveals, in her broad smile and ready laughter the gratification she receives from her work. At the same time, her bi-cultural life experience has primed her to be the ideal liaison between the food insecure and FoodBank Lakeside’s volunteers.
volunteer spotlight
Kriss Gang: A Life of Service Across Borders
written by Jerri Manion
When Kriss Gang arrived in Ajijic seven years ago from Ohio, he did not come to retire from a lifetime of service—he came to continue it. Accompanied by his wife Deb and their dog, Kriss brought with him a deep commitment to community engagement that had shaped much of his life in the United States and would soon find new expression along the shores of Lake Chapala.
In Ohio, Kriss and Deb were known for opening both their home and their hearts. They hosted international exchange students, creating a welcoming space for young people far from home, and immersed themselves in a wide range of community projects. Kriss also volunteered in political campaigns, often traveling to rural areas where he witnessed firsthand the realities of extreme poverty and substandard living conditions. Those experiences strengthened his resolve to work toward social justice and equity—values that were further nurtured through his active participation in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, a faith community grounded in principles of peace, equality, and compassionate action.
Ajijic proved to be fertile ground for Kriss’s enduring spirit of service. Not long after settling in, he learned of FoodBank Lakeside (FBL), a grassroots organization founded in 2020 to address food insecurity in the region. Attending a fundraising event as a representative of the Unitarian Universalist community, Kriss connected with members of the leadership team and discovered an immediate opportunity to help. When he heard that a marketing committee was forming, he volunteered on the spot.
In that role, Kriss contributed his writing and organizational skills to strengthen the organization’s outreach. He helped revise a PowerPoint presentation used to communicate FBL’s mission, authored articles for the newsletter, and assisted at fundraising and awareness events. Today, he serves as the organization’s webmaster, teaching himself WordPress to maintain and improve the website. His efforts have helped create a more efficient and accessible platform for sharing information, coordinating volunteers, and expanding community support.
Kriss’s volunteer work has extended beyond the digital realm into hands-on service throughout the Lakeside area. For a time, he worked with Operation Feed in San Juan Cosalá, where he valued the personal connections formed with families collecting their monthly despensas—packages of essential food items. He currently drives a weekly route for El Proyecto, partnering with local coordinator Cala to ensure that meals reach households directly. The role allows him to see the immediate impact of the organization’s work and the relief it brings to families facing food scarcity.
Another of Kriss’s contributions is to the Dine and Donate program, which he joined last year. In this role, he visits local restaurants to recruit their participation, explains how the initiative works, provides promotional materials, and collects donations. The program not only raises funds but also strengthens ties between local businesses and the humanitarian mission of FoodBank Lakeside.
Despite the many facets of his involvement, Kriss remains humble about his contributions. He speaks most passionately about the organization itself, describing FoodBank Lakeside as exceptionally well run, with a clear vision and unwavering focus on its mission. For him, the greatest reward comes from the opportunity to give back.
“Giving back to a community that allows me to live here as an immigrant,” he says, is what makes his work meaningful.
In a place known for its vibrant expatriate community, Kriss Gang stands out as someone who has fully embraced the responsibility of belonging. His story is not simply one of volunteerism, but of gratitude in action—an example of how one person’s dedication can ripple outward to touch countless lives.
FoodBank Lakeside is stronger because of Kriss’s steady presence, his willingness to learn new skills, and his readiness to serve wherever needed. And just as he expresses appreciation for the community he now calls home, that community is deeply grateful for him—a man whose life of service continues to nourish hope, dignity, and compassion for the most vulnerable among them.
ON GIVING
Written by Jeff Hirota
I was with my father when he died last month. We were about 3,500 miles from Mexico, where I now live and have been so graciously welcomed. One evening, while I was settling my father’s affairs, I received unexpected emails. Friends and supporters of FoodBank Lakeside had learned of my father’s passing and made memorial gifts in his name. Tears came to my eyes. These gifts, sent across the miles, conveyed love for my family and the people of Mexico.
I was reminded of FoodBank Lakeside’s “Gift from the Heart,” which helps donors honor someone or celebrate a special occasion. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for the kindness I received, but I was inspired to pay it forward.
Please click on this link to learn more about how to give a Gift from the Heart.
Capirotada
Capirotada is a traditional Mexican dessert served during Lent. Essentially a bread pudding, it has some very specific ingredients. The bottom layer is toasted crusty French bread, cut in chunks. These are drenched with a sweet syrup made of piloncillo (unrefined cane sugar) and seasoned with cinnamon and cloves. Cheese (a mild, melting type, such as Monterey Jack), raisins, and nuts are sprinkled over the top before baking.
That’s the basic recipe, but every family has its own variation. You may have sampled capirotada with bananas or tres leches or chocolate if you happened across the Ajijic Capirotada Festival and Competition on March 21 this year.
The traditional ingredients are humble and symbolic, as this Cuaresma dessert honoring the Passion of Christ. Each ingredient symbolizes something:
The Bread represents the body of Christ.
Piloncillo syrup represents his blood.
Cinnamon sticks symbolize the wooden cross.
Cloves represent the crucifixion nails and thorns in the crown.
The Cheese represents the burial shroud.
Raisins and nuts symbolize thorns and wounds.
A lively video recipe is at https://www.recetasnestle.com.mx/recetas/capirotada-clasica