Every town, village and city in Mexico has a Patron Saint. The patron saint of Chicxulub Puerto is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Virgen de Asunción) who is honored every August 15th with a mass, parades, processions in the fishing boats, dances and a bull-fight.More fondly known as Chix Food Bank, we (a group of Canadians, Americans, snowbirds and full-time residents) began operating in November 2005 with a group of individuals who came together to respond to an identified need in Chicxulub.
In the village of Chicxulub there are about 6,000 people. The main industry is fishing. Of course, this work is at the mercy of the weather and between the hurricane and the norte seasons (cold fronts in the winter) the port is often closed, so there is no opportunity to go out fishing. So there are families with limited resources to care for themselves. There are also elderly people who rely on their children to care for them and help them on a day-to-day basis. Chicxulub is a comisaria of Progreso and receives funding for its programs from Progreso. There is a huge need to assist people suffering from many forms of poverty.
For this project, a family can mean a single mom with children, an elderly person living alone, families with the usual complement of people, and anyone in need.
On the 15th of every month these families receive a despensa of food. The bag contains the following items: beans 900 gms, rice 900 gms, cooking oil 500 ml, sugar 900 gms, cookies 500 gms, detergent 500 gms, powdered milk 2 liters, sopa (pasta) 400 gms, and salt 250 gms.
How You Can Help: Consider “adopting” a family for one year. Cost is $600 pesos per family at the current despensa distribution of once per month. (About $60 US) Check out your grandkids’ closets! If you are driving back to Chicxulub next winter, consider bringing in shoes and jeans and school supplies.
Blanket Program: The winters are getting cooler and we are hoping to provide at least one blanket per family to keep them warm. We hope to include the blankets with the Christmas’ hampers. We Need Your Help!
Food Recycling: On your return to Canada or the US consider donating your left-over food to the Lunch Program at the Andres Quintana Roo school. We will arrange pick up and delivery of the foodstuff to the school. Remember every bit helps these kids, including warm clothes for the families and children. We are looking for “magic gloves” and knitted slippers. We accept any donation of clothing for these families. There is always someone who is in need. Recycle your plastic laundry bags to us. We use them for the monthly despensas and avoid the cost of buying new bags. Eyeglasses to be recycled are accepted. Read about the “Breakfast with Lauren” on our website to see what is happening with the pre-school kids in Chixculub.
Thank you from the families of Chixculub!
Chix Food Bank, Box 83, Progreso, Yucatán, 97320 Mexico. Tel: 01-969-934-0558 Email: [email protected]
Location: Bamboo Beach, Calle 20, Chicxulub Puerto is the new home for our program. Be sure to drop in on the 15th of any month to see how the program works and check out the menu. Thanks to Charley and his team, Bamboo Beach will also house the book exchange as previously done. Hours of operation are 8 AM-10 PM.
Website: http://chixfoodbank.com/index.htm
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