Yesterday was the “Dia de Maestros” in the Yucatan so the boys did not have school and were able to come with me to help Sharon at the Chixculub Foodbank. This is a great opportunity for them to learn about the needs of the people who live in the Yucatan who may need more help. They got to see many people and even a brand new baby boy, Roberto, who was just two weeks old! Evan & Noah were filled with questions about the food bank and why people needed help. It was great to be able to spend the time with them today and I was really proud of the job they did.

Sharon, who normally has lots of volunteers throughout the expat season, is definitely short-handed from March to October. She is always looking for volunteers to help with her many projects, especially the food bank dispensas which occur on the 15th of every month. The 14th is always set aside for packing the dispensa’s. Each dispensa receives:

• Rice (arroz)
• Black Beans (frijoles negro)
• Sugar (azucar)
• Salt (sel)
• Pasta (sopa)
• Oil (aciete)
• Powdered Milk (leche)
• Cookies (galletas)
• and a small bag of laundry detergent

She also has a vitamin program for the children. She tracks all of the children in the program and ensures that they are receiving the correct vitamins for their age.

Sharon, was great yesterday at putting the boys to work. First she outlined each of the positions that were available for them to do and then she let them choose what they wanted to do. Evan chose to help with the vitamin program so he got to sit right next to Sharon and every time she was handed a card, Evan had to look up the names alphabetically and then tell Sharon if they were to receive any vitamins and which type. Then after approval and giving the person the vitamins, Evan would put a checkmark in the May column corresponding to the person’s name. He did a great job! It was just a coincidence that both Sharon and Evan were wearing yellow but they looked like a great team!

Noah, after careful contemplation, decided that he wanted to hand out candies to everyone, as well as giving them their dispensas. This proved to be a lot of work at times as some people receive multiple dispensas as there are often more than one family living in the same location.

He would start out by saying “Hola, buenos dias!, Quieres dulces? Quantos dulces tu prefiero? Aqui Tienes.” and then he would be off to ensure that they were handed their bag, their laundry soap and helped them put it into larger carrying bags if the person brought them. He had to make sure that the next dispensa was ready for the next person. He did a great job, and his Spanish was much better than my recounting of it above!

To find out more about the Chicxculub FoodBank, please visit their website at: http://foodbankchicxulub.com/

The Chicxulub Foodbank in the Yucatan is a great way to volunteer and to see one of the projects that was created to benefit people in the community and is administered by a Canadian expat in the Progreso area. Please visit Sharon’s website and learn how you can help the Chicxulub Foodbank.

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