Feeding the Hungry: Update

   In October I wrote a blog post entitled Feeding the Hungry asking people to help us feed starving families in Candelaria and start a store to sell food at reasonable prices. Thank you SO much to all of you who gave generously!! We were able to give away food rations to help families survive until work started again in the sugar cane fields and also buy storage bins and food to begin our store.

   We cried for help on behalf of desperate families in our community and the Lord answered that call through many of you. We raised $3500 for our “Food for the Hungry” Program.

   In October and November, we gave free food rations to families who were without food. The families were told in the beginning that this free food would only be given until paychecks began again through the sugar cane fields. We do not want families to become dependent on free food. Our goal is always to empower and help families provide for themselves. 

   We wanted to expand the project to create a food store where we could buy in bulk and then sell these food staples to the community at very reasonable prices. We wanted to ensure that the money donated would make a long-term difference in the community and we could have a self-sustaining food program on our property. We used the remainder of the money donated to buy big plastic barrels for food storage, construct shelves in our church bodega to create more space, and purchase 200 pounds of rice, 200 pounds of beans and three 5-gallon buckets of vegetable oil.
    Our daytime guard, Julio Rodriguez (pictured below right), agreed to weigh and receive payment for people coming to purchase food from our pulperia (term used here in Candelaria for a small store). When the supply runs low, Julio tells the mission so that new supply could be bought with the money made in sales.
   We buy all of the goods in bulk in order to get the best prices on rice, beans, and oil of mid-quality; we then offer that food in smaller quantities for the same price we paid only adding a small amount to cover the cost of transportation. This allows the community to receive products at an affordable price, but the project itself does not lose money. Julio receives rice, beans, and oil weekly as payment for running the stores. We are also able to bless some of our widows and families in great need with extra food from time-to-time through a benevolence fund.
    Like any new project here, it took people a little while to begin shopping with us. In December and January we were stocking provisions 3 times a month. However, in February and March sales increased and we are now stocking food 6 times a month. In other words, we have around 200 pounds of rice, 200 pounds of beans, and 15 gallons of oil come in and out of our property every 5 days!

   In October, when we were raising money for this project, many people asked if our feeding program would end up causing damage to local stores and businesses by stealing their customers. For those of you thinking that this project sounds like nothing more than a Wal-Mart that came to town and offers the lowest prices putting all of the small corner stores out of business, please allow us to elaborate… 
   Our mission knows about times when helping is actually hurting, and we have learned from our mistakes and the mistakes of others. The last thing we want to do is damage the local community and cause unemployment for local store owners.
   Locals started asking us when we would start offering ketchup and other sauces in our store; others wanted to know when we would sell soap, shampoo, and other hygiene products. The truth is we want to sell the essentials and nothing more. Our little store (pictured above left) is a ministry and in it you can buy the food staples. We do not want to expand. We also will NOT allow any buying on credit. The other little stores offer credit (with high interest rates), but we will not sell on credit! If someone cannot buy from us, they are able to go and buy on credit from the other stores around us. If they want a higher grade of rice, beans, or oil they can also go to the other local stores. For their needs beyond the basics we also encourage them to shop from their neighborhood shops because we do not want to take away their business. We want to offer the best price possible on food staples so that families have an option to put food on the table without accumulating such huge debts.

   What’s even better? The first 2000 pounds of rice was grown by the garden workers on our property here in Candelaria, and the next 4000 pounds (which we are currently selling) was grown at our other two church plants in Santa Matilde and La Isla (rice fields in Santa Matilde- pictured right). These workers are able to sell large quantities of their products to the local community through our mission.
   Also, all of our food products are sold out of our bodega with is attached to the church building here on our mission base in Candelaria. This means that every person who comes to buy food is also encountering all of the life springing forth in our mission. They are seeing our dance team, Sunday school students, baseball and softball teams, clinic, and garden as they place their food orders. It has been a way to bring new people from the community onto our property.
   The project is very simple, and we hope to keep it that way. We are humbled by the donations you all made to the project and overjoyed to see people come to our property to have their needs met, through food and spirit. It is amazing to see all that has happened through this project since October. Thank you so much for your interest and for answering to call to give!