Foodbank Lakeside Despensa Day in Chapala

On a typical bustling Wednesday morning in Chapala, at a Surtido store, you will find the Foodbank Lakeside Chapala Local Coordinator, Sandra Arceli Flores Martinez, (below in denim) busy organizing a weekly despensa distribution. Chapala is the largest city served by Foodbank Lakeside, necessitating three despensa days. A BIG thank you to the coordinators: Sandra organizes Wednesdays, Maria Fernandez de la Torre on Thursdays and Liliana Macias Gallegos on Saturdays. They live locally within the community and determine the eligibility of the families. We could not do what we do without them!

Foodbank Lakeside is proud to be a lean organization, with no offices and no warehouses. We are grateful for assistance from local community volunteers, helpful Surtido staff, and even despensa recipients such as Roberto, below in the brown vest. Even more amazing is that Roberto helps out despite the fact that his arm was severed on the job. More on his story below.

Unlike San Nicholas or San Antonio, where despensas are delivered by car, most eligible Chapala families walk or take the bus to the distribution point and line up to pick up their despensas. Groceries are heavy. Usually, a family member helps them carry the despensa. home.

People start lining up around 9:30 am for a 10:00 am distribution. By 11:00 am most families have received their despensa. The entire operation is very efficient. After that, the volunteers drive the remaining despensas to those who are too elderly or infirm to travel.

Here are some of the people who were kind enough to speak with us.

Ana Marie’s temporary need for the despensa is directly related to COVID. Before the pandemic, she worked in an artisanal store on the Chapala malecon. Once the pandemic started, visitors declined and the artisanal store, like many other businesses that catered to tourists, closed. Her husband is a mechanic. With the economic decline, he finds some work but not much.

Not to be deterred, Ana Marie has a plan for the future. When her son, Hernando, is in school, she plans to study Business Administration.

Maria is also focused on the future. She wants to keep her three children (aged 9, 12 and 13) in school. Because of the pandemic, children learn online, at home. Unfortunately, Maria cannot always afford the Internet and WIFI bills to keep her kids online and in school.

Maria’s budget is tight because her husband fell in January and broke his ribs and shoulder. He has not worked for more than three months. Fortunately, the despensas will help this family until their situation improves.

Nancy brought her child, Evenlyn, and was one of the first to arrive in the lineup. Nancy and her husband, who is out of work due to the pandemic, have three children.

Since the start of the pandemic, Nancy’s brother, who is also unemployed, has moved in. With six mouths to feed, the despensa is very welcome and appreciated.

Rocindo, 66, kindly assisted with organizing the despensas before picking up his own.

Rocindo has been a gardener for 35 years. Now, his knees hurt so much that he can not do the kneeling that gardeners must do. He also says that no one wants to hire a 66 year old gardener with bad knees. His wife is 77 and there are no children at home to help out.

Remember those industrious grandmothers who used to bag groceries at Soriana before the pandemic? Lucina was one of those grocery baggers. She worked for tips only. Unfortunately, she is no longer allowed to do the bagging because of social distancing COVID restrictions. Grocery bagging is the only work she can get. She is 76 years old and has been alone for twenty years. With no one to help, the despensas are very much appreciated.

And finally, back to Roberto’s story. He began by saying that he was very poor when growing up. Education was minimal. He never learned to read, so employment opportunities were limited. At the age of 10, he began working as a field hand on farms.

He continued to work on farms until, at the age of 41, his arm was severed below the elbow by farm equipment. After that, of course, it became very difficult to find employment.

So how would Roberto, with only one full arm, carry his despensa home? Not to worry, Roberto’s wife soon arrived with a shopping buggy to help.

These are just a few of the families that receive despensas in Chapala. We hope that this story illustrates why Foodbank Lakeside needs your help to distribute monthly despensas (pantry items) containing groceries such as rice, beans, oats, eggs, milk, soap and toilet paper. Just $18.00 USD, or $23.00 CAD or $370.00 MXN pesos can help feed an average family for a month.