Come in for a meal and leave with a nourished heart, soul, and body. Free of charge.
Mustard Seed Café is a nonprofit, donation-based café. We want to tell and demonstrate the love of Jesus to every single person who comes through our doors! We serve delicious, nutritious food with an accompanying commitment to recognize the dignity of each guest and treat them with respect.
There are no set menus, no prices or requirements of our guests. Our menu changes every day, made with love and with the needs of our unique community in mind. Come, bring your friends and family, and enjoy a warm welcome and the gift of a tasty meal. We can't wait to see you!
It all begins with a novel called “The Summer Kitchen” and an idea that wouldn’t go away – a nonprofit, pay-what-you-can cafe. Then comes a Bible study lesson on justice. A broken heart. A confession of self-righteousness and prejudice. A quote by David Livingstone, “Sympathy is never a substitute for action.” A mission trip to Costa Rica. Breakfast with a friend. A visit to the Opportunity Center for the Homeless in downtown El Paso. An issue of Christianity Today. One World Everybody Eats Foundation. An email.
In the summer of 2011 three friends, Christi Brown, Patsy Burdick, and Shelley Speicher meet to discuss the idea and pray. They become convinced that a pay-what-you-can café is God’s invitation to learn humility, compassion, kindness, and love. The idea is to create a table where everyone eats…regardless of their ability to pay.
The dream takes shape. Fears and insecurities do as well. God persists. A mission statement and vision points coalesce. A community interest meeting is held. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. Checks arrive. Volunteers of every age and background begin to trickle forward through website interest sheets, cups of coffee, and conversations in offices, checkout lines, and parking lots.
Classes are taken. Book pages are dog-eared and devoured. A Steering Committee is formed. Grants written. Conferences and meetings attended. Locations are considered. Doors open and close. Friends are made. Wise counsel is given and embraced. Two years pass…
Fast forward to summer of 2013. A lease is signed, a garden designed, and the café becomes a reality in the Rio Grande neighborhood of our great city. God gives us four years in that beautiful community among beautiful friends. Lessons are learned, lives are changed, and through it all we experience God’s faithfulness and provision. Then in the beginning of 2018 the Lord closes those doors.
On May 30, 2018 Mustard Seed Cafe reopens at 201 E. Sunset Road. Westside Community Church is our new home and ministry partner in an area of town that has much need and is greatly underserved. We adopt a new mission statement, continue Wednesday - Friday lunch service, begin a free Community Meal on Wednesday evenings, build a 5,300 square foot garden and work to engage our new neighbors with an earnest desire to learn how to serve them well.
Life as we know it comes to a halt in March 2020 with COVID-19. Serving our neighbors well at that point means free nutritious meals served curbside and delivered by community and church partners to those facing food insecurity. We watch the LORD work in myriad ways and our desire to serve the vulnerable members of our community grows. Thanks to our community's resilience, we open our doors now with the gift of a free meal and a donation-based business model. Through our new model of operation, we have served in two years close to 65,000 meals, free of charge with no requirements. Our desire is to continue to serve the people of our community and follow our mission as we find our way forward together in the weeks and months ahead.
Carmen Estrada
Executive Director
+ About Me
Carmen Estrada was born and raised in Baranquilla, Colombia, in a loving family where she learned at an early age to serve and share with the less fortunate. She came to the United States in 1988, lived in New York, and it was there that she met and married her husband, Luis. Together they have two adult children, Joshalyn and Karla. The Estrada family has resided in El Paso since 1992, and shortly after arriving they became members of the First Baptist Church of El Paso. The respect and love that Carmen has for El Paso, especially the downtown community, has been developed and grown through the different ministries and programs of which she has been a part. Some of these programs include Camino de Luz, First Baptist Church Clothes Closet, and the nine street ministries (Agape Ministry). These ministries all have a special place in her heart. In all these ministries Carmen has seen, felt, and received the Grace of Jesus. After almost seven years working at La Familia del Paso, serving adults with mental illnesses, the Lord has led her to the Mustard Seed Café, to continue serve Him and the El Paso community.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Leigh Vipond
Healthy Eating and Garden Coordinator
+ About Me
Leigh is native to the area and is from Las Cruces. Her younger years living on a small pecan farm allowed her to enjoy being outside in God's beautiful creation, singing heartfelt worship songs as she rode her beloved horse through the vast desert landscape.
After graduating from NMSU in Las Cruces, she traveled to El Paso, where she dedicated her career to teaching special education in public schools until her retirement. It was during this time that she revived a latent passion for healthy eating and lifestyles. To further her knowledge, she obtained certifications as a Nutrition Coach and a Master Gardener. Inspired by the many discussions around food in the Bible, she felt compelled to share her passion for healthy eating and growing nutritious vegetables with others in her community.
Whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Cor. 10:31)
Karla Briggs
Social Media and Marketing Support
+ About Me
Karla was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, in a family that taught her to love and trust the Lord and that missions and serving starts with your neighbor. She has seen the miracles and goodness of Jesus firsthand throughout her life.
Karla's love and pride for the El Paso/Juarez area have been there since she was very young when she served in various ministries with her family. Karla is married to her high school sweetheart Zachary Briggs, and together, they live in NM, holding on to the Lord's Promises and what he has in store going into this new season.
"I have told you these things so that you may have peace in me. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33
The Mustard Seed Cafe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with a mission to serve warm delicious meals to those in need!
