Update: Food and cash donations to buy food will be collected at the front door of the Bucerias Mega on Saturday, September 24, from 10 am to 2 pm.

Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit - Septihambre is a bleak local “joke” name for the month of September (Septiembre) because of its substitution of hambre, “hunger.” Seasonal tourist trends often cause savings to dwindle through the slow summer months, leaving September as the most difficult time in which to find work and put food on the table.

In response, the local nonprofit PEACE — in collaboration with the Vallarta Yacht Club, Marina La Cruz and the Bucerias Bilingual Community Center — will conduct its first annual Work for Food drive from September 1 to September 30.

The PEACE Work for Food program grew out of flood-relief efforts after the destructive rains of September 2010, and has continued to grow due to community need. Beautification and improvement projects are under way in Punta de Mita, Higuera Blanca, and Bucerias as community members identify their towns’ needs and create jobs for themselves, separating and bagging garbage from fields, plazas, and schools in return for donated food. Two hours of work earns a participant $70 pesos’ worth of food, which can feed ten people.

“This is about a partnership; it’s not about the haves and the have-nots,” said Molly Fisher, Director of PEACE. “This program allows individuals to build on their own capabilities and opinions in a way that validates their dignity, instead of simply collecting donations and handing out food to people who have none.”

Donations needed to supply the program include the following:

• dried beans
• rice
• boxed milk
• cooking oil
• pasta noodles
• canned tuna
• canned or boxed tomato paste
• toilet paper

The following donation drop-off locations will be open between September 1 and September 30:

PEACE Casa Campesina
Otilio Montano S/N
Col. Emiliano Zapata
Punta de Mita, Nayarit

VIP lounge in Marina La Cruz
Marlín No. 39
La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Nayarit

Vallarta Yacht Club
Paradise Village Marina
Paseo de los Cocoteros N 001 Local #20
Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit

Bucerias Bilingual Community Center
Calle 16 de Septiembre #48
Col. La Unidad
Bucerias, Nayarit

“This program provides an incredible cycle of development, both economically and environmentally,” Fisher said. “But the most powerful benefits are the feelings of self-empowerment and satisfaction that accompany the ability to provide for loved ones.”

For more information about how to donate, contact becci(at)peacemexico.org.

PEACE, (Protection, Education, Animals, Culture, Environment) established in 2005, is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization made up of three main programs which focus on education, animal well-being, and environmental protection in the Bay of Banderas, Nayarit, Mexico. PEACE works hand-in-hand with communities in Mexico to provide holistic education, combined with community action programs that enable people to improve their quality of life as well as their financial stability.

For more information, please visit PeaceMexico.org or
click HERE to read more about PEACE