Food For All: Feeding the Homeless

"I thought no one would care about me," said the man as we handed him a food package. Like many of the migrants we've met, he had been walking for over a month by the time he reached northern Ecuador. But young men are not the only people walking to find a better life. We also meet families with children of all ages. They walk in the rain and under the intense sun. They walk wearing flip flops and holes in the bottoms of their ill-fitting shoes. They walk with nothing but what they can carry on their backs.

Who are we? We are a 100% volunteer organization called Los Compañeros, which was created in September 2020 with the mission statement of “Helping those most in need”. We are a network of friends of Jovann Bravo and Cookie Gold, the founders of Los Compañeros, who come together twice a week to donate time, food, and money to Los Compañeros’ efforts to feed the neediest of the people in the Cotacachi, Otavalo, and Ibarra area of northern Ecuador.

Now we need your help. The purpose of this fundraiser is to raise money to buy a refrigerator and a stove to carry on the effort of feeding the needy. (Total cost: USD $600) The remainder of the money we’re asking for will be used to continue to feed the homeless. The Care Bags, which contain food and basic toiletry items, cost $3 each. We create 30 Care Bags every Monday and Friday, and we usually run out of food before we run out of people who need help. Any extra money we receive over our goal amount will be used to feed people. The need is ongoing, so our expenses are ongoing.

Care Bag contents:

Meal--rice, beans, chicken, vegetables; bottle of water, arepa with scrambled egg, apple, banana, and a hard boiled egg

Toiletries: bar of soap, roll of toilet paper, small package of sanitary napkins (handed out to individual women)

Thank you for any help you can give the people who think no one cares about them. We care, and we know you do, too.

#FoodForAll #FeedingTheHomeless