Former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and his wife Phoebe in January visited San Miguel de Allende, a historic city in Central Mexico, where they learned about the ministry of Feed the Hungry, an Anglican-founded charity that provides meals for more than 3,000 impoverished children every day.
They also visited St. Paul's Church, a lively expatriate parish mixed with local Anglicans, whose rector, the Venerable Michael Long, served in the Diocese of Chicago when Griswold was bishop.
"What has been amazing to me is to see how members of the Episcopal Church in different cultures make the bridge of ministry in a culturally appropriate way to local communities," Phoebe Griswold said.
One of the kitchens of Feed the Hungry serves a kindergarten, Centro Infantil San Pablo.
"We appreciate Frank and Phoebe's efforts and suggestions," said Long. "Centro Infantil needs exposure and support; their visit to the kindergarten was especially wonderful."
Based on the Head Start program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children, Centro Infantil offers basic pre-school skills. After several years, the entire neighborhood's schools display improved attendance and performance.
"Everywhere I've traveled ... I have been impressed by the ways in which congregations seek to reach out in service to the community around them," Bishop Griswold commented. "This certainly was underscored during our visit to schools and feeding programs in San Miguel. St. Paul's Church, with a great deal of energy and effort ... has been able to partner with local communities to establish kitchens and a kindergarten which not only feeds children but also trains and employs local women [offering them] medical insurance and social security benefits."
Feed the Hungry began more than 20 years ago as a soup kitchen and has since grown, opening 27 public school kitchens, with four more planned in 2007.
A new kitchen serves the indigenous Chichimeca tribe where the staff discovered the worst conditions they'd seen. Residents generally speak their indigenous tongue, but little Spanish. Volunteers noted their profound inspiration as the children thrived after the kitchen was opened in September 2006.
Dr. Mary Murrell, executive director of Feed the Hungry, explained that the program employs more than 40 Mexican women and the kitchens become distribution points for medical care and English classes.
"We build the kitchens and hire women from the community to cook the food."
For many, she explained, the program offers their only regular, nutritious meal. Hot meals encourage school participation; enrollments rise when kitchens open, she said.
It costs $65 to feed one child for one year and $7,500 to sponsor a kitchen annually.
"Every week volunteers weigh and bag the dry food for each kitchen," Murrell said. "Then volunteer drivers use their own cars and gas to deliver the dry food, fruits and vegetables to our kitchens. Bulk purchasing and careful inventory control ensure we can feed as many children as possible."
Further information about Feed the Hungry is available here. Feed the Hungry and St. Paul's annual Day of the Dead tour was profiled by Episcopal News Service in December 2005 http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_70168_ENG_HTM.htm.
