Help Feed Hundreds of Hungry People

This year Bob Higgins, the founder of the Cuenca Soup Kitchen, moved to Paute and turned over the operation to three long-term volunteers: Des Dizney, Bill O’Brien, and Smith. Our plan was to continue the soup kitchen’s mission in 2020.  

On March 12th that all changed. Ecuador went into a strict lockdown due to COVID 19. This meant that we could no longer serve meals to those in need.

Since the people could not come to us to be fed, we had to get the food to the people. Our partnership with Hearts of Gold has created and maintained a system that:

• expanded to serve Ecuadorians and well as immigrants 
• distributes food to our more distant families and provides a pick up point for those who are able to get to us
• vets the needs of each family and foundation, transitioning them out when they become stable
• negotiates discounted deals with our vendors thereby extending our purchasing power
• provides clothing and other donated items 
• enters into new projects as opportunities arise such as the “Pig Project” that provided tons of protein to those we regularly assist as well as many others

The number of families to whom we provide food has grown to 120 (approximately 600 people). This is three times as many people as we were able to help with the old model and we do so for slightly less cost. This is a huge impact.

March 12th also changed our financial picture. The uncertainty in the world impacted our donors as well. For some it meant they needed to reduce or stop their donations. 

It is clear that this need will continue for the foreseeable future and that the Cuenca Soup Kitchen, in partnership with Hearts of Gold and our wonderful volunteers, will continue to serve as long as the need is there and funding allows. We depend on continued donations to enable us to do just that.