Feed the Hungry San Miguel Announces Availability of Free Face Masks

A donation of more than one million masks will be available for those who need them

Published January 26, 2021

By Paola Juarez – FtH

Feed the Hungry San Miguel announced the immediate availability of 1.3 million free medical grade face masks donated by Motus Integrated Technologies of Michigan and CAM a Stanley Black and Decker Company of Brea, CA. Feed the Hungry’s beneficiaries, as well as other charitable organizations, hospitals, and the local mayor’s office in San Miguel de Allende, can obtain masks to distribute across the municipality to those who need them.

“We are so thankful to Motus Integrated Technologies and Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing for their generous donation. We are working on a distribution strategy with the mayor’s office to ensure these masks get to people who need them, free of charge,” said Al Kocourek, President of Feed the Hungry San Miguel.

Feed the Hungry plans to include a set of these masks in their food bag distributions to adult beneficiaries in the rural communities, and to the other NGOs associated with the food bag program.

The city will use its distribution channels through the DIF; Desarrollo Social; Public Works and the Office of Economic Development, International Relations, and NGO’s, to ensure that the people in the urban and rural communities have free access to these masks when needed.

“These masks could not be coming at a better time. We have three main priority areas where we will focus distribution of these masks to help minimize propagation of Covid-19. These areas include the main bus hubs and bus stops, our public markets, and specific ‘colonias’ and occupations, such as sanitation workers, identified as high-risk by the Health Department. The Program is designed to provide masks during a six-month period,” said Francisco Garay, of the of the Economic Development, International Relations, and ONGs Office.

The organizations involved in the manufacturing as well as Feed the Hungry San Miguel and the mayor’s office are inviting the residents to make good use of the masks and properly dispose of used masks by placing them in garbage containers. The goal is to give these for free to people who may need them but also prevent a negative environmental impact.

This is not the first time that Feed the Hungry San Miguel and the municipality have worked together to accomplish such a monumental task. From the start of the pandemic, the city provided volunteer packers and delivery trucks with drivers to reach the communities in need of food. More than 78,000 food bags have been distributed to nearly 20,000 people, allowing the families to generate 8 million meals through the organization’s Feed the Families program.

Established in 1984, Feed the Hungry San Miguel, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) U.S. non-profit corporation guided by a dedicated Board of Trustees, supported by a small, professional staff, and a corps of exceptional volunteers. Feed the Hungry San Miguel, Inc. raises funds and provides guidelines to its Mexican operating entity, Feed the Hungry A.C. anddonataria autorizada.  During the school year, they provide more than 4,000 hot meals every day in school kitchens in 36 needy communities.  In response to the pandemic, Feed the Hungry retooled its operations to distribute food for entire families struggling to avoid starvation. To learn more or make a donation, visit feedthehungrysma.org .