Want to enjoy a local restaurant’s tasty offerings while also helping to feed local families?  

FoodBank Lakeside’s Dine & Donate program has 14 restaurant partners (as of late August) where at each table a colorful table tent implores diners, “You Can Help Beat Hunger.” It notes that, for the price of an average meal, one can feed a hungry family of four for a month.

How? Simply ask your waiter for a FoodBank donation envelope, fill out your information, insert your donation and return it to the waiter. There’s also a QR code on the table tent to make online donations via your mobile device.

“Feed yourself, feed someone in need,” advises Donna Vernet of Ajijic, a Dine & Donate campaign volunteer who seeks to add 2-3 restaurants a month to the list (see below). Donna recently took over the program from Lisa Beeman, who launched Dine & Donate with more than half a dozen restaurants as partners.

Donna is looking for volunteers to add restaurants across Lakeside, from Chapala east through Riberas del Pilar, San Antonio Tlayacapan and Ajijic. She estimates there are roughly 40 restaurants throughout Ajijic alone which are program candidates.

During June, Dine & Donate generated about $10,000 pesos for the FoodBank, Donna said. As donation envelopes mount, she visits restaurant managers to collect them.

Once, a diner overheard her talking to a manager and collecting several donations. The diner identified himself as a food bank supporter from Alaska and gave her $500 pesos on the spot, Donna remembers.
She believes there is a lot of potential for recruiting Chapala’s many restaurants since the FoodBank operates numerous programs and has many client families in Chapala.

A $20 USD or $400 peso donation provides essential food and hygiene items for a family of four for a month. Thanks to very limited overhead costs, the all-volunteer FoodBank Lakeside, an organization of Mexican nationals and ex-pats, guarantees at least 95 percent of donations go toward feeding families.