Skip to main content

Week 2 Part 2

Work is picking up at the food bank! We have been discussing future plans and I am really excited for El Banco de los Alimentos and the future that it could have. Miguel is very motivated and has many expectations regarding the new facility. We have been talking about the lessons that we will design while we are here. The topics that we are currently planning on include: sexual safety, menstruation, anatomy, food preparation, nutrition, hand washing, etc. We plan on making powerpoints and other teaching materials that the food bank will be able to use in the future. I think that this is a great idea and hope the bank uses the resources that we provide. I learned more about the process of distributing food at the bank. So, the collaborators who work at the bank are given food at a discounted price. However, when the classes at the new facility begin, they will be able to receive a free bag of food if they attend a class. This next week we will be going out to two different communities to distribute food. The communities that the food bank distributes food to are considered to be in the 'vulnerable population.' There are many requirements in order for them to be considered 'vulnerable' including income and food security. I am looking forward to going out and interacting with those who benefit from the food bank in the communities. Today, we learned how to use the system in order to determine if an individual or family is in the vulnerable population. The system is an online program that involves inserting personal information. Once all of the information is put in, the program will tell you what population the individual or family is in. Then, those working at the food bank determine if and how they will receive food.

This week has been a great one where I have learned a lot more about Mexican culture. Someone from our BYU group just got here last Sunday and is a great photographer so I will be able to share some great photos from now on. The food is great, the locals are great, and we are a great group!








Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Week 6 Part 1

It is our final week at the food bank. We all have mixed feelings this week, but, we have been very productive because we need to get everything done before we leave the food bank. So, this week I have made classes regarding teen pregnancy and diabetes. We have pretty much finished it all up - we have 15 classes ready for the food bank to use. On Friday, our last day, we will give a presentation to everyone at the food bank about our experience over the last six weeks.  Today we went out to the new food bank (which will hopefully open within the next month). We went there to clean. It ended up being really fun - the three of us from BYU went along with the French volunteers and another volunteer from England. I was designated to wash all the windows because of my height. Apparently, the bank has been open to the forces of nature. I found several geckos and insects. When I saw the first gecko, I hurried to pick it up and show the other volunteers. It was hilarious because the Fre...

Week 3 Part 2

Tulum!! This weekend we decided to make the long trip to Tulum (about 3.5 hours). We made it a day trip, which we would not recommend because there is so much to do there. It is a much more touristy place than Merida and had the largest amount of white people I have seen yet. We went to the ruins, snorkeling near a reef, and to a freshwater lagoon. Tulum is definitely a great vacation spot and I hope to be able to go back. It is a cool place because you get to experience Mexican culture (ie. food, decor, atmosphere) as well as Mayan ruins with a Caribbean twist (ie. white sand beaches, clear blue water).

Week 2 Part 1

Happy Fourth of July! The food bank this week has been pretty uneventful until today. On Monday we worked with the collaborators and sorted bread, beans, and sugar. On Tuesday we worked on going through the deliveries from the stores. This included many gross things including busted containers of bleach and rotten juice. But, it was cool to talk to different people and learn more about how the food bank works here. Today however, we talked with one of the supervisors named Miguel. He explained that when the new food bank opens in around a month, they want to provide classes for those who are receiving the food. He wants the classes to be about health topics and is really open to ideas. He wants us to plan and provide the material for these classes! So, over the next couple of weeks we will be planning and thinking about topics that will be helpful to the people in Merida. We plan on creating powerpoints and other materials to help. Miguel says that these classes will be a requirement...