2 minute read
Taos Feeds Taos
from Taos Aglow 2022
By Dena Miller
For 37 years, the nonprofit organization Taos Feeds Taos has been making the holiday season a little more joyful for families in need in Taos County. And this year, TFT is expecting to gift approximately 1,200 families with free hams and vouchers worth $125 of groceries from Super Save. “We want to recognize the generosity of the many individual donors that make this program possible,” said Francis and Ernestina Cordova, who have been active in the organization since its beginning. The couple, and the Board of Directors of TFT, oversee several fundraising events during the year — notably, a classic car show and auction at Super Save following Fiestas de Taos, and a pancake breakfast at Bent Lodge #42 — but much of the money they receive is in response to annual appeals such as one included by Kit Carson Electric Cooperative with their billing statements, and local merchants placing donation jars by checkout lines. When the pandemic struck, TFT departed from distributing food baskets and instead offered the grocery vouchers. They decided to continue doing so as clients “seemed to prefer buying exactly what their family needed, whether baby food or special items for seniors,” explained board member Judy Weinrobe. One elderly client said, by being able to get what her pantry needed, she was able to buy Christmas gifts for her grandchildren, Ernestina recalled. Virtually every penny received by TFT goes towards feeding our hungry neighbors. (When asked about administrative costs, Francis laughed and said, “Stamps.”) Hands-on assistance comes from New Mexico Army National Guard, LOR Foundation, as well as Kit Carson and Taos High School culinary students. This year, families will line up at Super Save to collect their free hams on the weekend of Dec. 19-20. Clients have until Christmas Eve to redeem the grocery voucher. A giving community never allows room for food insecurity and, for decades, the dedicated and hard-working board of TFT has galvanized the county to make sure tables are not bare during the holiday season. Their success, Francis said, is all about “the teamwork we have and the community we have.” In addition to Francis Cordova, who today serves as president, the executive board includes Louise Gallegos (vice president); Mike F. Martinez (treasurer); and Cathy Jeantete Aragon (secretary). Board members, in addition to Ernestina Cordova and Judy Weinrobe, include Anita Bringas, Andrea Chavez, Mary Trujillo Mascarenas, Pauline Mondragon and Gloria Salazar.
To contact Taos Feeds Taos, call 575-770-1141.
