The Acercandonos Store

On Thursdays, I go down the Acercandonos Office (the office which facilitates the sponsorships of people in Alto Cayma) to help prepare food that will be sold the next day. Victor, Tulita and Lourdes buy food in bulk - typically sugar, flour, soy powder, beans, rice, toothpaste, soap, etc - and every week, they divide the food from one 50 kilo (110ish pound) bag into one or two kilo bags. The food is sold at cost to the people, and it is much less expensive than even the cheapest store in Alto Cayma. Most families are able to use some of the money their sponsor gives each month for their groceries.

Here we are dividing the food in bags:



More often than not, I end up wearing more sugar and flour than I think we put in the bags.

On Friday, between the hours of 4 and 6, the people in the Acercandonos program come to the office for their food.

This is David, an American visitor, and I packing a bag of groceries for a woman in our program.



One by one, we invite people into the stockroom and we ask them what they would like to have to eat. I appreciate this program because it is not a handout. We help parents and the elderly budget for meals and we empower them to choose what it is that their family would like to eat.