Our hearts are full of gratitude for the amazing blessings of support we have received from all of you in 2022! It is our honor to serve our community, and we are committed to serving the El Paso del Norte region with love and joyful hearts.
Every day, for the last nine years, the Mustard Seed Café and Amigos Garden has had the privilege to witness that God is with us… through a word of encouragement, a big abrazo, a provision from heaven, or a volunteer that comes with a “great idea.”
At the beginning of 2022, we saw and experienced the continuing impact of a world pandemic on our border region. There was a growing awareness of the need to break the cycle of food insecurity; the need for fresh and healthy meals was increasing; and food prices were climbing due to inflation, impacting the most vulnerable in our community. During all the changes of this year, God’s faithfulness and provision have been with us in every step of our ministry.
With excitement, we reopened the dining room on April 13, 2022, with a strategy to love and serve our neighbors in four different ways:
- Dine-in meals
- To-go meals
- Meals that are delivered to various ministries and shelters
- A monthly Community Meal on the last Wednesday of each month
Our mission has been and remains: to feed hungry people and care for their hearts. We offer a healthy meal free of charge. The meal is prepared and served by our resilient volunteers and staff who demonstrate love, care, and respect to everyone who comes through our doors.
We close 2022 with our doors wide open and more opportunities to serve than ever before. Over this year, we served over 38,000 meals, with three different menu offerings each week. Our invaluable volunteers gave over 7,000 hours of service in our kitchen, dining room, garden, and in delivering meals to ministries and shelters of the city. We received over 16,500 pounds of donations that came in the form of fresh garden vegetables, fruits, grains, cooking oils, and dry and canned goods.
Thank you for your generous support! As a non-profit organization, we depend on charitable donations of food, volunteer hours, and monetary gifts. It is a privilege to serve our unique community alongside you. Together we are witnesses that God is with us!
With hearts full of expectation, we are looking forward to celebrating in 2023 our 10th anniversary. And on behalf of our volunteers, the Executive Board, and staff, I wish you and your loved ones a Joyful Christmas and a New Year experiencing how God is with you.
Carmen Estrada
Executive Director
