Providing food to families in need.

Welcome!
Chix Food Bank, began operating in November 2005 by a group of individuals who came together to respond to an identified need in Chicxulub, Yucatan.
In the village of Chicxulub there are about 6,000 people. The main industry is fishing. Of course, this work is at the mercy of the weather and between the hurricane and the norte seasons often the port is closed so there is no opportunity to go out fishing. Therefore we have families who have limited resources to care for their families. We also have elderly people who rely on their children to care for them and help them on a day-to-day basis.
There is a huge need to assist people suffering from many forms of poverty. Your support can change lives.
For only $75 CAD you can feed a family for a year!
There are many ways that YOU can make a difference.
I would like to make a donation
I will be visiting the area and would like to learn more about the programs

We are helping a local soccer team raise money.
Thank you for looking at other ways to donate in the Yucatan. Please take the time to watch the video and share it with your friends! Every donation to the children of Progreso Manchester is greatly appreciated. Many kids in the community will have an opportunity to play on the team with funding.
Current News and Updates on the Chicxulub Foodbank

June Dispensa
The June dispensa was carried out on a bright, sunny day under the watchful eyes of the team. Kay, Carmita, Milo, Jody, Don and Nancy ensured the dispensas were packed on the 14th and handed out on the 15th. This same group of volunteers will continue the process throughout the summer. Thanks to all of them and thanks to the photographers! See you all again in September! Have a wonderful summer.... read more
May Dispensa
Well I am heading back to Canada early this year for my 50th Nursing Reunion. Not to worry as I leave everything in the capable hands of Kay and Carmita and Nancy and Ciro. This May dispensa was quiet and well attended and the heat was already here for the day…30+ by 11 AM.... read more
Community Outreach Pencuyut
In early January, Carmita and her family visited a small pueblo called Pencuyut, a suburb of Tecoh. She heard from her nephews about this village and wanted to check things out. Then we made a second visit to celebrate Children’s day and take out more donations. Pencuyut originally was called ‘ cehn-yuc ‘ which is Maya for “well of the deer”. The legend says when the first inhabitants arrived they found many venison bones. It has approximately 2000 habitantes, there are many aged people and several cases of deaf children. These special needs children have no attention nor go to school. It seems that this area is more affected by the cold winters than we are here along the Gulf. It can get as cold as zero degrees so there will be a collection of hats, slippers and scarves for next winter sent to them. The village maintains itself with milpas where the men grow and harvest corn and there was evidence of buckets of corn being carried on the heads of some women. There are schools that teach from kindergarten to high school with telesecundaria being a satellite program via internet. There are 3 high school teachers working with the young adults. The internet service provided to the village is not strong enough to provide computer and telephone service so imagine seeing the kids playing and chatting together and the adults busy sharing with no evidence of the cel, FaceBook or any other social media! The Food Bank sent donations for the children and some adults and they were very grateful. The house that hosted us belongs to... read more
Chicxulub Soup Kitchen
As promised, we have delivered at least 5 loads of groceries to the kitchen since the middle of March. Dona Ara is always happy to see us with our full boxes. Her clients are also happy when we come. They are serving about 75 people a day. They have a good supply of plastic and glass containers that will tide them over until next... read more
April Dispensa
Needless to say April dispensa was more subdued without many of our volunteers who have returned home for the spring months but we had a great showing. Our 65 families were in attendance and things went smoothly. We had a special visit from the Queen of the Marina 2015-16, Addy Velasquez who visited and helped with the dispensas. We also noted her commemorative plaque on the wonderful anchor that was donated to the town of Chicxulub. Again, thank you to all of you who have left food items and containers for the food bank and soup kitchen and those who left their donations for next winter’s hampers. Without you, this could not happen. Missing Jody Tortilla man Carmita Double load Yahir Our... read moreMuelle Market
Muelle Market 2016 2016 was an amazing year for us at the Muelle Market. We continued to see our regular vendors and meet some new vendors. We were amazed and delighted by the increase in shoppers this year and we watched many leaving with armfuls of purchases and big smiles. Alex, our vendor baker from Classic Delights in Merida, created the most delicious Cinnibuns for the Market this year. At almost every market, there was a line up all the way to the back of the venue, just to get that delicious taste of home. These Cinnibuns will be back for our 2017 Muelle Market. New to the Muelle Market We introduced a few new food vendors this year: Suzu -with her amazingly delicious quiche, Cy -with homemade pizza, Alex-our amazing baker. Guty- with fresh herbs and juices. Bernard with bread, muffins and more. David – with carrot cake , Horso Organics- with amazingly fresh veggies and Ginnie & Eva with Calzones. We also introduced new Artisans: Jorge, Patrica& Ivan with there amazing paintings, Gloria with her stained glass and art, Robin with felting, Miguel with his prints, Gabriella with natural body care products, the Women’s Coop with their unique and beautiful applique designs, Ruth with her ladies Linen Clothing and Nola’s Yucatan Designs with men and women’s 100% cotton tops made from manta. Chicxulub Foodbank We continued in 2016 to assist the Chicxulub Foodbank with fund-raising for 2016. Our Vendors donate products or gift certificates that were raffles off at each Market and the Kitchen donated 10% of their sales. Please remember to support them by buying your... read more
Bazar de Muelle
This is the end of another successful market season. In total there were 7 markets and each one held its own highlight. Who stood in line to buy Anita’s sausages or the scrumptious cinnamon buns? There was always a flurry of activity around Mari’s table or the community table where local service providers promoted their services like massages or bike rentals. Then there was the raffle tickets that everyone bought in support of the Children’s programming for the Chicxulub Food Bank. There will again be summer workshops for the children. Thanks to Nola Marie’s creation Ruth’s linen blouses Nola’s shirts Mujeres de Chicxulub Sausage line-up Cinnibon line-up ... read moreMarch Dispensa
I want to start off by saying thank you to all of you for your help and donations for this season. It is a delight to see how many folks support this project. If it was not for you, the village of Chicxulub would not be able to enjoy the kindness and generosity of the Snowbird and Ex-Pat population. I am including all of you in this thank you which means our year round folks as well. Special thanks to the person who donates fresh tortillas monthly for the families. There are currently 65 families on the roster with another 5 who I will be visiting over the next few... read more
February Dispensa
Packing of the dispensas on the 14th went smoothly with seasoned hands, Shirley and Dave with Andrea and Kay put the packages together swiftly and efficiently. Thanks to everyone who donated beans and rice and the donor who delivered 7 dispensas from Soriana’s. Like the rest of winter, the 15th dawned grey and cool. There were fewer folks standing in line when we started but by the end of the hour, all but 3 families had come for their package. vitamin service Lorraine is back to hand out the tortillas austin helps keep order pauline and james are back..yahoo taxi service from Jody english student Camila Thanks to Wayne 2 for the... read more
Bazar del Muelle
There have been two markets this month and both were a huge success. What was exciting to see but what really floored me was the line-ups for Anita’s sausage meat and for the kitchen so folks could buy their cinnamon buns and coffee. Other vendors were busy as well. Come see in March. Watch for a more in-depth report next... read moreSummer Programming
Carmita and her team did a great job this summer. There was work done on family trees and values and drawings! There was an exciting beach clean-up where the moms joined their kids to clean the beach. The comisaria also was present to pick up the various bags. The Food Bank received a few more volunteers to help out Carmita. The kids and volunteers kept busy with discovering family connections, learning more about Chicxulub and using talent for drawing. End of season party As they did last season, Capitan Flores honoured the volunteers with a fiesta at the restaurant. As you can see everyone enjoyed themselves. Thanks to all of you for your dedication and enthusiasm for the kids and Food... read more
CAPP Program
Lots has been going on even though I am not there. Carmita and Malu and the CAPP volunteers are working with about 30 kids to help them improve the basic 3 R’s of education. The first step was a test to asssess their level of understanding. Then teams were established according to grade level and assigned as follows: Grade 5 – Carmita Grade 4 – Aaron and Luis Grade 3 – Samuel and Aracelly Grade 2 – Malu Carmita and Lina grade 6 Aracelly and Samuel grade 3 Luis and Aaron grade 4 Many children, when they reach grade 6 cannot do the basic math and writing. Watch for pictures as the summer... read more
Community Outreach Pencuyut
The earlier visit has been followed up with two more with the group helping lay a floor in Veronica’s house. She was mentioned in the earlier post. Veronica has 7 children and her husband works the field. The struggle to get the floor laid is that there is no water in the casa and it needed to be carried in. This made the job longer than... read more
Community Outreach Pencuyut
In early January, Carmita and her family visited a small pueblo called Pencuyut, a suburb of Tecoh. She heard from her nephews about this village and wanted to check things out. Then we made a second visit to celebrate Children’s day and take out more donations. Pencuyut originally was called ‘ cehn-yuc ‘ which is Maya for “well of the deer”. The legend says when the first inhabitants arrived they found many venison bones. It has approximately 2000 habitantes, there are many aged people and several cases of deaf children. These special needs children have no attention nor go to school. It seems that this area is more affected by the cold winters than we are here along the Gulf. It can get as cold as zero degrees so there will be a collection of hats, slippers and scarves for next winter sent to them. The village maintains itself with milpas where the men grow and harvest corn and there was evidence of buckets of corn being carried on the heads of some women. There are schools that teach from kindergarten to high school with telesecundaria being a satellite program via internet. There are 3 high school teachers working with the young adults. The internet service provided to the village is not strong enough to provide computer and telephone service so imagine seeing the kids playing and chatting together and the adults busy sharing with no evidence of the cel, FaceBook or any other social media! The Food Bank sent donations for the children and some adults and they were very grateful. The house that hosted us belongs to... read moreEnglish in Chicxulub
Special report from Susan We have had another great year teaching English to the students of Quintana Roo. We had enough teachers and helpers for grades 4, 5, and 6.I would like to thank Karen, Beth, Diane, Mary, John, Brooke,Ruth,Pierrette,Alexis,Ken,Grace,Kitty,Kathryn,and Jim. We had a great bunch of students this year in grade 6.Our themes included:families, body parts, calendar, emotions numbers,etc. Groups worked great as we had up to 35 students. Our last day in the English class we played bingo and each student received a prize. Students also took home their folders(filled with their work) group picture, and a diploma for taking our English class. The principal,teachers, and the students put on an appreciation afternoon for our teachers and helpers. The grade one students handed out Happy cards to the teachers and then sang a beautiful song. Students handed their teachers sincere cards thanking them for coming to their school and teaching them English. Thank you again to all of you who have been involved in our English School Program. If it wasn’t for you this program would not exist. Sue Watch for more photos as they come in. ... read more
Chicxulub Soup Kitchen
As promised, we have delivered at least 5 loads of groceries to the kitchen since the middle of March. Dona Ara is always happy to see us with our full boxes. Her clients are also happy when we come. They are serving about 75 people a day. They have a good supply of plastic and glass containers that will tide them over until next... read more
Prepping for Christmas
Check out the temperature and that was the day in March the industrious group was again sorting and packaging clothes for the Christmas hampers. Some of the group continued into April with wrapping presents for next winter. Santa will be happy with the work of his elves. This season we introduced fabric softener sheets to help maintain a fresh scent when opened in the winter. Then the big finale when a truck was loaned to us to transport all of the boxes to Chicxulub where they are stored for the summer. Join the journey via our picture gallery. ... read more
CAPP Volunteers
During semana santa workshops were held for the children and our CAPP students attended some of them. The topics were a continuation of summer with genealogy, care of the environment and some first aid. On average 25 children attended. Shelley made a donation of 2400 pesos raised by co-workers to get uniforms for the children in the village. We will do the same as before in buying the material and having the uniforms made by local tailors. With holidays over, the CAPP students will continue their own workshops with the children. ... read moreSan Joachin Nursing Home
San Joachin is quieter but no less animated this month with Paula working with the seniors. The group continues to enjoy the exercises as well as the parachute. Thanks to a donation we now have our own parachute and stretch bands to use. The residents enjoy using the bands and do grow stronger every time we use them. I do have to make mention of Paula who has maintained the program all winter with her group of volunteers. Paula has a wonderful knack of connecting with the residents and helping them enjoy the... read more
Prepping for Christmas
Yes, I know it is way too early to think of Christmas 2016 but it is always good to be prepared! And that is what a group of industrious volunteers did in Feb to help with sorting and packaging clothes for the hampers. The expression “many hands make light work” was in evidence as the ladies went to work getting the outfits made up and bagged. Whew! One less thing to stroke off my... read more
January Bingo
Under the B. Bingo. And that’s just what many Canadians play in Chicxulub at least twice during their annual winter sojourn from the north. The fundraiser bingos have been helping the Chicxculub Food Bank since 2009. That first year at the former Bamboo Beach, it raised $12,840 P to help for the monthly cost of food needed for the 77 families. Last year it raised $10,500 P. Why do people like playing bingo so much? It’s fun, it’s a way of socializing and offers a chance of meeting new people. And besides, the game that dates back to medieval times, allows you to win prizes. The full house that played last month at Mamma Mia’s gave it their undivided attention until a green bus called, El Bicho, pulled up across from the restaurant. At intermission some rushed out to satisfy their curiosity. They discovered a couple had been travelling in it for 10 years since starting out from Argentina. Intermission over, it was back to serious bingo playing. Canadians, Karen Evans and Kathy Worrall, are the hardworking bingo organizers who gather prizes,find the bingo callers and run the show. Those lining up their beans to place on the numbers called included people from all over Canada and New York. In the old days, those beans had an even more prominent role because the game was called beano and if you had a winning card, you yelled “beano.” A New York toy salesman renamed it bingo after he overheard someone accidentally shout “bingo”. The first game was played at a carnival near Atlanta,Ga., in 1929. Sharon Helgason, who organized the first fundraiser bingo in Chicxulub says proceeds have helped the... read more
Muelle Market
Yea, Nola was here for the penultimate market and what a day we had. There were 34 vendors and 100s of customers coming to find treasures or sourdough bread or carrot cake. No-one left disappointed and many did not go home empty handed. It was nice to have Nola home and Kay was busy with the Food Bank table and raffle. And then it was the last Muelle Market on March 19th! And what a day! My light box with Katarina arrived and as you can see she was a delight. I have a photo of her with the artist and her husband, with the dynamic duo of Kay and Andrea and then with Madie, the owner of the hall. She was a perfect companion. You can see that Marie was her usual busy self and enjoyed a great day. The money raised by the biweekly raffles has been used to pay for the three buses we needed to take the grades 4-5-6 children to the Parque Cientifico and today the funds will be used for the pilot project of Self-Defense for Children during semana santa. There will also be workshops for the children in the summer and workshops for the parents helping them discover what their values are and how to improve their parenting skills. I will have updates for you as we offer these activities. Now we are done with the Muelle Market until next December and I look forward to seeing you then. From Nola The Muelle Market would like to send out a huge thank you to all the people who attended the... read moreBaseball Camp
Submitted by Brooke: Thanks to our Mexican coach, Luis, the baseball team continued for an additional three months after we Snowbirds returned to the North. We started off again the third Saturday in January with 25 eager players. The following week, we had 37!! Due to rain and Carnival, the numbers were lower for the next two Saturdays but we expect a large turn out on the 21st. We have 8 to 10 Canadian and American “coaches” on any given Saturday and have had 3 Mexican parents on occasion. Our goal, of course, is to involve more parents, aunts, uncles and cousins in the hopes of getting the team back in Mexican hands by the time we all head North again. So, please spread the word that they are needed Saturdays at 9 am in the Chicxulub... read more
Bazar del Muelle
The Muelle Market is growing this year…more new vendors and seeing lots of new faces in the crowd. We have had raffles for the food bank at each the Markets and the goal this year is to raise enough funds to take the children to the Dinosaur Museum. The Vendors have generously donated their handcrafted items and have helped us raise a total of 2060 pesos this month and that will cover the cost of one excursion for the school kids to the Science Centre. We have a Beverage Bar at the new Market and we sell Fresh ground Chiapas Coffee and Home made Cinnamon Buns. We also sell soft drinks and water. Stop by and see Nancy she will be happy to try out her English. The Markets in Feb. will be Feb 5 and Feb.19 The Markets in Mar will be Mar 5 and Mar 19 Our new Location is: D’Mar Salon de Eventos Calle 28 x 21 x 23 Chicxulub Puerto See you all at the Market... read more
Knitting Goodbyes
This year we asked for knit and crocheted hats for the cancer children of Merida and were presented with over 100! We had hats of all colours and sizes made, some with stripes, some with flowers and even some animal faces. They were delivered to the IWC meeting on Saturday March 29th. The knitters, crocheters, embroiderers and the sewers raised funds for the food bank and created gifts for the Christmas hampers. Here are just a few of the lovely hats made… Here are some of the lovely Barbie clothes Alexis made for the naked dolls!! Now won’t that make a few girls happy this Christmas! And have a look at the revamped cushions that will make some moms happy when they open them from the Christmas hampers. . All done by talented volunteers this winter!! We also decided to collect money towards the foodbank and stitchers were asked to donate 10 pesos a visit, this raised 400 pesos. We look forward to returning to our stitching again next year. We hope we will have a few more people next year. At the IWC meeting a table was set up to sell purses and cozies. With the additional sales of the items at the Muelle Market, this brought the total in sales and contributions from S&B to 1400pesos. Well done... read more
Muelle Market
The idea came after chatting with my friend Sharon, who has lived in Chicxulub for years and assists with many humanitarian programs in the village especially the Chicxulub Food Bank. We talked about a way to help the local artisans who handcrafted item as the fishing did not sustain the families all year. So, being a creative thinker and an artist it didn’t take long to come up with the idea of doing a market. Now it was time to start looking around for a local venue for the market. I had only been in Chicxulub for about 7 months at the time and spoke very little Spanish so I incorporated the help of Sharon and her friend Carmita. After seeing what was available, I told Sharon that I had seen a beautiful restaurant in Chicxulub Centro and thought it would be a perfect space to use for a small market. It was then that Sharon introduced me and the market idea to Charlie the owner of Bamboo Beach Restaurante which, was also the home of the Chicxulub food bank. I realized then, that I also wanted the market to somehow help raise money for the food bank. The artisans and the food bank were both quickly stealing my heart. Now that I had found a space I need a name. The name Muelle Market, came to me as I was driving to the restaurant. There is a sign just before you turn to go towards the restaurant and it says in bold letter MUELLE with an arrow pointing down the street. My first thought was, wow free advertising... read more
Guest Blogger- Nola-Bazar del Muelle
The inception of the Muelle Market begins with Nola. This is her story. “When I first went to the Bamboo Beach restaurant to help Sharon with the food bank I fell in love with the beauty and peacefulness of the space and realized that it would be a wonderful venue for many things. At that time,I didnt speak any spanish so we tossed the idea around and decided to speak with Charlie about using the space for a venue for local artisans to have the opportunity to show their wares and earn some extra money. I never expect it to turn into a mulitcultural market for artisans and crafters from different parts of the Yucatan and the world. The Market has taken on an energy of its’ own and has given Charly at Bamboo Beach and his staff the opportunity to earn extra money for the restaurant and and has helped raise additional funds for the Chicxulub Food Bank. The market has also allowed Chicxulub to become a meeting place for friends and family to enjoy a day of shopping and lunch while enjoying a beautiful setting. My initial plan was to have the market for 2 or 3 months in the year while the Snowbirds were here for holidays, but it has been such a success that I thought about having it year round. My plan was to have the market open in April- May- June and September – October -November- December the third Thursday of each while the busier months of January – February – March – July and August would be the first and third Thursday of... read more
English Classes at Andres Quintana Roo
Susan, the co-ordinator for the english classes offered to the students at the local elementary school and her dedicated group of volunteers have done an amazing job once again this year. Each year just keeps getting better and the children are more comfortable trying out their new language skills. It is not unusual to hear children and parents alike saying “hello, good morning and how are you” as you walk through the town. This winter, at Andres Quintana Roo we had another successful teaching experience. We were fortunate to have enough teachers and supporters to have 3 grades of English classes: grades 6,5,and 4. Our aim was to have fun and teach the students some basic English phrases to carry on a conversation. One highlight for the grade 6 students was to put together several kites (letter k) and take turns flying them outside. Students later put their names in a hat and 5 names were drawn. These student took the kites home. There were many fun activities that all the students enjoyed. At the end of our time here the students received a picture of themselves and a class picture to remind them of their class in English. Students have been encouraged to practice their English until we return. Thank you to Marge for bringing down 3 white board for our classes and flip chart paper. What wonderful,useful gifts. I never thought I would get excited over rulers or chart paper,but, I did. Thank you to all the people who have contributed school supplies for our classes,it makes teaching a little easier. A big thank you to all... read more
Bazar del Muelle-Bamboo Beach
This delightful market began in November 2012 and is the brain child of Nola, a Canadian artist relocated in Chicxulub. Here is how Nola explains her creation: “When I first went to Bamboo Beach to help Sharon with the food bank I fell in love with the beauty and peacefulness of the space and realized that it would be a wonderful venue for anything. I didn’t speak spanish so I approach Sharon with the idea and asked her to help me talk to Charlie about using the space once a month for a small venue for local artisans so they might have an opportunity to earn some extra money. I never expected it to turn into a Mulitcultural Market for artisans and crafters from Yucatan and other parts of the world. The Market has taken on an energy of it own and has helped Charly and his staff at the restaurant, the Chicxulub Food Bank, and has created in Chicxulub a meeting place for friends and family to enjoy a day of shopping and lunch in a beautiful setting.” From Suzanne Bourret For Socorro, it is the only way she can provide for her family. For Rosa it gives her hope. And for tourists and expats it affords them a chance to buy authentic and handmade local Yucatan crafts to take back to their countries. The Chicxulub artisans’ market, inaugurated late last fall at the Bamboo Beach restaurant, has provided help to those in need, in a community where poverty lives on many streets. Socorro creates crocheted purses using yarn and silver or coloured pop can tabs. It is the... read more