Summer Update From the Busy Puerto Vallarta Food Bank Francie Nguyen - Vallarta Food Bank
September 20, 2022

It’s been quite a hot summer here in Vallarta, and we’re busier than ever at the food bank. We’re still serving 600-800 hot meals a day, and our food despensas production has increased due to several projects that we’re currently working on.

Here's what we have been doing at the food bank:

We signed a deal with Direct Relief, a US-based charity, to provide despensas for six months. This program will benefit 2,100 families and will be delivered between PV, Cabo Corrientes, and Banderas Bay. So far, we have completed two deliveries to Cabo Corrientes with 400 despensas for several small towns and one delivery of 350 despensas in Puerto Vallarta. The next delivery will be 55 despensas in the Banderas Bay area.



We applied for two grant projects: one for receiving hurricane relief equipment from Eagle Wing's foundation (established by Villa del Palmar Hotel group) and the second one for food for despensas to Grupo Mexico. We hope to receive these grants to provide more assistance for our families.

We are now registered with the federal government of Mexico as an official charity and not just the state of Jalisco.



The Right to Shower

For people struggling with homelessness, finding a shower or place to get clean can be a struggle. At Vallarta Food Bank, we believe cleanliness is a basic human right. We installed an outdoor shower for anyone who needs a safe place to get clean. We have towels, soaps, shampoo, toothbrushes available. We also have a free laundry facility because we know for anyone who is homeless, finding a way to do laundry is a dauting task. Something simple like having clean clothes can make a huge difference in someone’s life.

Save the Dates:

Please save these dates for some great fundraisers coming up for our Vallarta Food Bank:

• Sunday, November 20th - El Río BBQ - great food and drinks with three awesome bands playing your favorite music
• January 15th — Isla Cuale Food Festival (Rio Cuale Island's new park)
• March 5th — Spring Fling at Villa Real Banquets - Venue with more delicious food, great live music, silent auction, raffles, etc.

Chuy and Miguel's Family

Chuy and Miguel's family live in a poor community near El Tuito called Potrerillos. Their home is made from what their parents can salvage, take from the forest, or buy with a little money now and then. The roof leaks like a colander in the rain. They have electricity but no lights or fans. Their bathroom is an outhouse with an old oil drum buried behind it. Between five family members, they have two broken twin mattresses with metal springs poking through and a cot with a piece of wood functioning as a mattress on top. The kitchen is a wood stove in the center of the main room filling the house with smoke when in use.

Both Chuy and Miguel are severely mentally disabled and mute. When one of them gets seizures, their mother, Brenda, must carry them on foot down a 3km difficult trail to the highway and then hope a bus or kind person will take them into El Tuito. They have a very challenging life and could use our help.

Please click here if you would like to help.

Monthly Donations

Monthly donors play a critical role in helping fight hunger in Puerto Vallarta. Consistent monthly donations allow us to budget for hot meals at the soup kitchen and despensas to-go while also expanding educational resources, community programming and employment opportunities to those that need it most. When we can better forecast our monthly budget, each dollar and peso can nearly double in value. Put simply; monthly donations act as the backbone of our entire operation.

Just 10 USD ensures a despensa is sent every month to a local family, providing food to neighboring households. Being able to count on that $10 ensures our core mission — feeding the beautiful community of Puerto Vallarta — continues to be met as we increase access to other basic needs such as hygiene, clothing, baby supplies, legal aid, self-defense, medicine, and more.

Are you interested in making a monthly donation? It's easy on our website.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to give back to the community. Without your support, we wouldn’t be able to continue our work.

Related: We Can - And Should - End Hunger Before 2030 (Washington Post)

Related: Five Innovative Tech Solutions to Help End Global Hunger (Responsible Business)

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  Learn about Vallarta Food Bank

  Learn about Direct Relief in Mexico

  Learn about Eagles Wings Foundation

  Learn about Action Against Hunger