“We provide hot, nutritious meals to more than 4,350 hungry children every school day.”

A Tree Grows in San Miguel

Tel: (415)110-2010 | Cell: 044-415-101-5652 | E-mail: w ill@feedthehungrysma.org |

Feed the Hungry San Miguel

In This Issue…

● President’s Message

● Who We Are

● A Chef for All Seasons

● FTH Area Map

● Founding Donors & Kitchen Angels

● Year End Holiday Appeal

● How to Volunteer

● The Ride-Along Experience

● Upcoming Events

● “Ghouls for Schools”

● Recognizing Our Sponsors● How to Subscribe

Vol. 1, Issue 1 Oct - Dec 2016

Don’t miss our “Ghouls for Schools”Halloween party. See the back page for all of

the details of this fun evening.

Highlights & Happenings has beencreated for several reasons. For one,we wanted to have an informationalplatform available to those unfamiliarwith Feed the Hungry who may wantto become involved in some way. Inthis issue, and all issues to follow, wewill have information on how tovolunteer for Feed the Hungry.

Another reason for this newsletter is topass along information on the schoolswe support and, in so doing, hopefullyencourage new donors to step up andhelp us open more school kitchens.

Finally, Highlights & Happenings willbe a vehicle for passing alonginformation on our recentaccomplishments and our newobjectives.

We hope you find this publicationinteresting and useful to you in yourcharitable donation planning.

Will BrienEditor in Chief

In 1984, a seed was sown in SanMiguel. It was a small seed but,fortunately, it was planted in the fertilesoil of expatriate compassion. Overtime, the seed took root and began togrow, watered from the seeminglybottomless well of hope. Today, 32years later, that little seed is now amagnificent tree with a broad andsheltering canopy. That tree is known asFeed the Hungry San Miguel.

As a tree grows and matures, it addsbranches, each supporting smallerbranches and all of them covered inleaves that allow the tree to survive andflourish. To use the tree as anmetaphor, Feed the Hungry has, thisyear, added several new branches.One of them is this newsletter.

To subscribe to Highlights & Happenings please

email: contact@feedthehungrysma.org.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE“Stewardship of FTH is a shared duty and that’s what makes it work.”

Al Kocourek - President, Inc.Steve Livingston - TreasurerMichael Gerber - SecretaryWill Brien - FundraisingBodo Eichler - Donor RelationsGifford Moody - President, ACGary Peterson - Operations

Feed the Hungry Advisory Board2016

Tony AdlerbertPat DonnellyHoward GleasonRt. Rev’d Wm. GreggDiane LargmanPablo MarvinJonna StrattonCarol WeickerKathryn West

Al Kocourek, President

It is a real pleasure for me to introducethe FTH newsletter. As our program

 grows in size and complexity, weneed to communicate in a variety ofways with each of you who contributeto our success. Highlights &Happenings aims to keep bothcurrent and future supporters betterinformed about what’s happeningwithin the organization and to shareour plans for the future.

Feeding 4,350 kids every school day isno simple task. The heart of FTH ismade up of volunteers and donors. Ihave been both a volunteer and adonor for a number of years and I’dlike to use this space to share a fewpersonal reflections.

I want to express my personalgratitude for the opportunity to knowan amazing group of people. Workingwith FTH has enriched my life andgiven me the chance to make adifference. Together, we are able toimprove children’s lives. That’s a giftfor each of us.

I want to share my sense of excitementabout FTH plans for the future. Twomajor initiatives stand out for me. First,based on huge needs in the campo, theBoard of Trustees has committed to a25% increase in meals served duringthe coming year. Secondly, we’retransitioning to a more sustainablemodel that focuses on empoweringparents. This will allow us to “scale” ourservice and be more efficient as wegrow. This is good stuff.

I want to admit to being a bit intimidatedby the challenges we face. FTH has hada truly remarkable history and now hasspecific and aggressive goals. I havemoments when I am acutely aware ofmy own limitations. The good news isthat I am surrounded by people ofenormous energy and talent whoroutinely move our program forward.Stewardship of FTH is a shared dutyand that’s what makes it work.

Finally, I want to invite you to becomeinvolved, or more involved, with FTH. Ifwe are to meet our goals it will takemore of just about everything,especially volunteer time and donormoney. Just let us know that you’rewilling to help out and together we’llfigure out how to make it happen. You’llhave fun and feel good, I promise!

“So no child shallknow the pain of

hunger.”

Will Brien, Editor in ChiefMary Knopke, Managing Editor

Contributors:Beverly BrinsonDonna FullertonMichael GerberRobert Rowland

Kathryn West

Feed the Hungry Board of Trustees2016

Highlights & Happenings

Staff

This is a typical scene on a Tuesday morning food delivery run out in the campo.

WHO WE AREOn the most basic level, Feed the Hungry San Miguel is a delivery service. We deliverfood to school kids in centro and the campo. But to leave it at that would be to leave outthe truly amazing way in which enough food to feed 4,350 hungry kids every day of theschool year is gathered, sorted, packaged, loaded into vehicles and then delivered toschool kitchens in 35 different locations, most of them in the campo…the Mexicancountryside.

Well, yes, we do deliver food. But that’s not the whole picture because Feed the Hungryhas a broader vision of its mission to improve the kind and quality of food that is deliveredeach week. The story begins with an initial health evaluation of each and every child inevery school we serve. Those results are then tracked over time with additional, periodicevaluations done by our two in-house nutritionists. That tracking continues until the childfinally graduates and leaves the FTH program.

 WHERE WE GOIn greater San Miguel de Allende, there are a total of 562 different communities. While wewish that we could provide food for the kids in all of those communities, we are not thereyet. Hopefully, some day we will be. Meanwhile, we currently provide meals to the kids in29 of those rural communities as well as to an additional 6 charities in central San Miguel.Our served communities represent a small a percentage of the entire municipality, but theystill represent a huge footprint in terms of the area we cover and the miles our drivers mustlog to deliver their foodstuffs each week. One look at the map of our territory coverage willimmediately show the miles we cover each week of the school year.

WHO WE AREWHAT WE DO

WHERE WE GO

WHAT WE DO

"A Chef for All Seasons"Meet Valentin Patlan, Feed the Hungry San Miguel's head chef and theperson responsible for ensuring that thousands of San Miguel's schoolchildren and others enjoy healthy, nutritionally balanced and delicioushot meals every day of the school year.A professionally trained chef with a passion for improving the health andwell being of San Miguel's most vulnerable, Valentin came by thatpassion in a very personal way.Growing up in an impoverished rural San Miguel village, he was arecipient of FTH's hot meals as a young school child. He remembershow important that daily meal was for him and also for his family.Knowing that their son was receiving a hot meal at school helped easethe constant pressure he knew his parents experienced trying to providenourishment at home for him and his siblings.Following his culinary training, Valentin, now 27 years old, joined FTHwhere he has combined his professional skills with his keen interest ingiving back, and the results are inspiring. Now, all children attending the29 elementary schools currently supported by FTH, as well as 6 localcharities, including ALMA (a home for the elderly in San Miguel), SanMiguel's School for the Deaf and others, are benefiting from Valentin'spassion.Working closely with FTH's nutritionists who collect data (height, weight,degrees of malnourishment and obesity) on each and every school childin all FTH-supported facilities, Valentin creates, tests and finalizes aweekly menu each season of the school year. (The Fall 2016 weeklymenu is below.) Seasonally available fresh vegetables and fruits, dairyproducts, legumes and rice and meats make up the primary ingredientsfor the meals. To ensure consistency in food preparation, serving,nutrition and kitchen hygiene, Valentin and the FTH team of nutritionistsprovide ongoing cooking classes and training for all paid and volunteercooks at the FTH-supported schools and charities.When asked what motivates him most in his work with Feed the Hungry,Valentin responded, "I want to help children in the community haveadequate nutrition and to enjoy the benefits of good food." It is thatcaring dedication that is a hallmark of Feed the Hungry San Miguel.

To learn more about Feed the Hungry's

programs, please visit our website at

www.feedthehungrysma.org.

Valentin Patlan, Head Chef

Fall 2016 Menu

Follow Us on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/FeedtheHungrySMA/

LUNES

Huevos FTHPapas con Chili PasillaAgua de TamarindoSalsaTortillas

MARTES

Caldereta de GarbanzosArroz BlancoAgua de TunaSalsaTortillas

MIERCOLES

Tortillas VegetarianasSopa de LetrasAgua de PapayaSalsaTortillasPostre: (varios)Gelatina o Panquecitos

JUEVES

PicadilloSpaguettiAgua de GuabayaSalsaTortillas

VIERNES

CaponFrijoles NegrosAgua de JamaicaSalsaTortillas

FEED THE HUNGRY SAN MIGUEL

TOTAL AREA SERVED

MONTECILLO DE NIETO - JALPA - CLAVELLINAS - LOS RICOS - LAS CANAS - LOMA DE COCINA

MARROQUIN DE ABAJO - LA CAMPANA - ESTANCIA DE SAN ANTONIO - SOSNABAR - ALCOCER -GALVANES

LA PALMILLA - SAN FRANCISCO - SAN CRISTOBAL - EMILIANO ZAPATA - PALO COLORADO - CUADRILLA

PLAN JUAREZ - PANTOJA - POZO DE BALDERAS - TRES PALMAS - FAJARDO DE BOCAS - DON DIEGO

EJIDO DE TIRADO - CENTRO INFANTIL - SAN MIGUEL VIEJO - PENON DE LOS BANOS - HOGAR LOS

ANGELES - DON BOSCO SANTA JULIA - ALMA - MEXIQUITO - IREE - EDUCACION ESPECIAL - LA PLAYA

THE HOW-TO PAGEWays to Donate - How to Volunteer - Becoming a Founding Donor - Be a Kitchen Angel

WAYS TO DONATEDonating to Feed the Hungry is easy. We havetwo annual fundraising campaigns: the “Back toSchool” drive in late summer and the end-of-the-year “Holiday Appeal” in December. Please go toour website at any time of the year, and use thebig, red “Donate” buttons.

www.feedthehungrysma.orgFor donating on a larger scale, we encourageindividuals, couples, family foundations, groupsand businesses to consider the incredible goodthat can be done by becoming either aFounding Donor or a Kitchen Angel.

FOUNDING DONORS

A new category for Feed the Hungry, FoundingDonors are those individuals or groups who wantto help open new school kitchens but have notyet made the decision to become a KitchenAngel, with its three-year commitment tosupport a specific school. Founding Donorsplay a very important role in helping FTH toexpand its program into new communities thatmight otherwise remain on our waiting list formany more years. To become a FoundingDonor, all it takes is a one-time donation of aslittle as $5,000 USD. The amount of the donationdetermines the size of the school into which wecan install a kitchen. The larger the donation, thelarger the school. But all donations help and aregreatly appreciated.

If you would like to become a Founding Donor,please contact Will Brien at

will@feedthehungrysma.org, for moreinformation.

HOW TO VOLUNTEERFeed the Hungry exists because of its staff of dedicated volunteers, fillingneeds in a variety of ways and in many different capacities.

One of our biggest needs is for regular and substitute drivers to deliver foodevery Tuesday of the school year to the many schools and charities weservice.

Those drivers wouldn’t have anything to deliver were it not for the corps of foodhandlers and packagers who donate their time on Saturdays and Mondaysgetting the food ready to be delivered.

A large part of our fundraising comes from the events that FTH holds eachyear. Another group of volunteers pitches in at these events to man tables,sell tickets, give directions and do all of those seldom recognized but veryimportant behind-the-scenes tasks that spell success or failure for an event. Ifthat appeals to you, consider joining the events team.

Finally, we have recently created another team of volunteers called our“Special Ops” team. This is a group of individuals who have skills in areassuch as data base management, writing, desktop publishing and fundraising.

If you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities, please contactour Volunteer Coordinator, Jonna Stratton,

at jonnainmex@gmail.com.

Sponsoring a Feed the Hungry kitchen is a great opportunity to have adirect relationship with a school kitchen and the children it supports.Kitchen Angels are individuals or groups who make a three-yearcommitment of $10,000 or more per year to support one school. This is agreat way to join with friends, family or co-workers to do somethingmeaningful and with real impact.

For more information on how to become a Kitchen Angel, contact WillBrien at will@feedthehungrysma.org.

Follow Us on Facebook -

https://www.facebook.com/FeedtheHungrySMA

The Ride-Along Experience

Early every Tuesday morning duringthe San Miguel de Allende schoolyear, a dedicated group of Feed theHungry volunteer drivers slowlyenters the cavernous FTH warehouselocated on the outskirts of San Miguel.Once inside, the cars stop, one byone, before their designated schoolstations. Another "Load andGo” Tuesday is about to begin.

Resembling a choreographed dance,as each driver reaches his or herschool's station, other volunteersquietly load pre-assembled plasticcontainers of dry ingredients, freshfruits, vegetables, dairy products,kitchen utensils, cleaning products,and other necessary items into eachvehicle. As quickly as each car'sdoors are closed and the volunteerdriver pulls away, another car is readyto be filled. And so it goes until all 35FTH-supported schools and charities'stations are emptied and ready to bereplenished for the next week.

On a recent Tuesday morning,several interested San Miguelresidents accompanied Chip Swab ashe oversaw the "Load andGo” Tuesday operation. As FTH'svolunteer driver coordinator, Chipensures that there are enough driverseach week to make all deliveries andoften, as he did on this Tuesday, fillsin as a substitute driver.When it was clear that all of thedeliveries had been picked up andwere on their way to their designatedsites, Chip and his "ride-along"passengers began their journey to an

elementary school located outside ofSan Miguel. After driving for severalmiles on paved roads, Chip turnedonto a long stretch of dirt roads thatlead further and further up into thehills where nothing but empty fieldsand an occasional wandering dogcould be seen.

According to Chip, this day's journeywas a relatively easy one because,despite the miles of dirt roads withpot holes that he had to navigatearound, he knew that his route was arelatively easy one - there were noriver beds to cross before reachinghis school.Will Brien, a FTH Trustee andregular volunteer driver, was not solucky that day. His school is one ofthe most remote and difficult toreach, especially during the rainyseason. As Will reported in a phonecall to Chip later that morning, theriver bed that stood between him andhis school was much too flooded tocross, even for his 4-wheel-driveSUV. In the end, though, his deliverymade it to its destination, thanks tothe 12 mothers, 3 fathers and 1wheelbarrow, all awaiting his arrival.Anticipating that their children'slunch provisions for the week couldnot be delivered in any other way,this group of parents set out earlythat morning by foot and navigatedthe slippery muddy trails for 1.3 kmbefore crossing over a little walkingbridge to meet Will. All so that theirchildren and others would have hotlunches throughout the school week!

If you would like to ride along on a “Load and Go” Tuesday andexperience for yourself the real work of Feed the Hungry SanMiguel, please contact Chip Swab at: swabfamily@gmail.com.

A new FTH video is now available! View it at: http://tinyurl.com/z9mqwa6. Or view it by going to the FTH website; there is a link on theHome Page. Be sure to expand the window to view it full screen. http://feedthehungrysma.org.

Many thanks to Donna Fullerton, Producer/Director and Dennis Lanson, Videographer, for putting this together. And to our interviewees,especially Alejandra Rosas, Principal of La Campana school.

Thank you to our manysupporters for their

generous raffle gifts for“Ghouls for Schools”

Aperi

Berlin

El Vergel

Firenze

La Cucina di Afrodita

La Parada

Sabores de Frida

Tacos Don Felix

Tapas SMA

The Restaurant

Zumo

1826 Restaurant

Feed the Hungry San Miguel is a501(c)(3) US corporation guided by aboard of dedicated trustees,supported by a small, professionalstaff and a corps of exceptionalvolunteers.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Ghouls for Schools - 10/31/16

  Holiday Appeal - thru 12/31/16

  March Magic - 3/14 - 3/22/17

  Spring Sock Hop - 3/18/17

Feed the Hungry San Miguel raisesfunds and provides guidelines to itsMexican  operating entity, Feed theHungry A.C.

All donations are taxdeductible in the US and

Mexico.