Sun, Jul 05, 2009
 Carmen Mendoza and her children Aracely Obregon, 3, and Rafael Obregon, 10, eat during an evening program at First Church of God. Mendoza, who cleans houses for a living, and her husband, a landscaper, have seen their fortunes follow the economic downturn. The church has an evening meal program three nights a week.
Photos by Greg Bryan / arizona daily star
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Meal program for needy is cut as donation endsArizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.05.2008
A non-profit program that feeds the hungry is cutting four of 10 meal sites because it lost $100,000 in funding.
The cut was made last month by the Board of Directors of Caridad de Porres Program, founded in 1996 at the inner-city Holy Family Catholic Church, 338 W. University Blvd.
Meanwhile, Holy Family parishioners are holding a fiesta Saturday and Sunday to raise funds for the program that serves hot meals at supper time.
The need is great and people who use the program include working families who are facing hardships because of the downturn in economy, program administrators said.
One of those families includes Carmen Mendoza, 38, and her two children, Aracely Obregon, 3, and Rafael Obregon, 10, who ate last week at First Church of God, 3355 N. Fontana Ave., east of North Oracle and north of East Fort Lowell roads.
The mother and her children have been eating at the church up to three times a week for the past seven months. "This helps us out a lot. It supplements what I can afford in groceries each month. The economy is affecting us. It is difficult," said Mendoza, who cleans houses part-time.
She said her husband, a landscaper who was still working when she and her children were eating at the church hall, also has had his hours cut.
"When things were going well, we lived in a two-bedroom apartment. Then we moved to a one-bedroom apartment. Now we live in a studio," she said. The family pays $350 a month in rent and another $350 a month for food.
"I try to keep a positive attitude for my children. I want the best for them and I will stay strong," Mendoza said.
Carolyn Rankin, 58, described the meal program as a "life-saver." She said three years ago she moved from Fort Myers, Fla., to Tucson and worked as a private caregiver.
Rankin said she accumulated $25,000 in credit-card debt, lost her job and was evicted last December from her $420-a-month apartment. She now lives in a shelter. "It's hard getting back on my feet," Rankin said.
Some 750 meals are served each week at the church, said Pastor Mike Simpson. The church started feeding people one day a week in 2006, and in less than a year expanded to three days a week.
"About 80 percent are working poor from the neighborhood and elderly," said Simpson. He said the homeless, people who are mentally ill and others with substance-abuse problems also come to the church to eat.
"The need is evident and we hated to cut sites from the program, but we had to do it because we just don't have the money," said Burt Nehmer, Caridad de Porres board president. "We lost a $100,000 donation from a private benefactor," said Nehmer.
The unexpected cut was half of Caridad de Porres' $200,000 annual budget. The program, which has 130 volunteers, served 11,000 meals a month, mostly at churches throughout Tucson, said Nehmer.
Now a total of 6,000 meals a month will be served at six locations until donations pick up, Nehmer said.
In addition to Holy Family and First Church of God, the churches that receive Caridad meals are Living Water Ministries, 4343 E. 22nd St.; Life in Christ Community Church, 102 E. Palmdale St.; Christian Faith Center, 4108 E. North St.; and Desert View Church of God, 1370 E. Prince Road.
The board is working to sustain the remaining locations, and applying for private grants to replace the loss in donations, said Debbie Purdom, Caridad de Porres program manager.
"What concerns me is that the changes we made will affect people in this critical economic downturn," Purdom said. "So far we have not had to turn away families."
"We have hope that the community will respond to our need and help us to help others," said Purdom, mulling over the cuts in her office at Caridad de Porres, 845 N. Main Ave., across the street from Holy Family.
The program was founded in 1996 by the late Rev. Joseph Baker. He fed the homeless in the parking lot of the church. The feeding program was named in honor of San Martin de Porres, a 16th-century saint from Peru who was known for filling a black pot with table scraps to feed the poor and hungry.
In 2001, a 5,225-square-foot building was built for the program, which has three paid staff members. The facility houses a kitchen, warehouse and meeting room. Caridad de Porres also operates a culinary program and places graduates in jobs.
Veronica Valdez, who has cooked for the feeding program for four years, said she has visited all the sites.
"People are so grateful. It is very rewarding to know that I am helping people in need," Valdez said. "For some it may be their only meal that day."
● Contact Carmen Duarte at 573-4104 or cduarte@azstarnet.com.
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