The following was written in 2011, for a collection of stories published in 2014 upon the 30th anniversary of Feed the Hungry San Miguel.  

Mary Challis: Secrets and Energy

Dianne Walta Hart Interview with Mary Challis 
November, 2011

Mary Challis first visited San Miguel de Allende in the mid-eighties with a boyfriend. The relationship didn’t last but her love affair with San Miguel flourished and she stayed 15 years. 

Faith and religion have been constants in her life. While in San Miguel, Mary joined St. Paul’s Church, serving on the Vestry a couple of times. After every Sunday service, there is a “Coffee Hour.” Mary remembers poor children and their parents showing up to see if there was food left over. She thinks of that as the beginning of Feed the Hungry. She then heard of the need for a director. Mary volunteered and served in that position from the mid-eighties until 1989 or 1990. 

“I always get into things I know nothing about,” she said laughing, but became more serious as she added, “San Miguel was different then. You saw much more urban poverty than you do now.” 

Mary recalls working with Dean and Nancy Underwood, Martha and Bill Casselberry, I.J. Kuehn, and Sylvia Jessup – all names that are part of Feed the Hungry’s early history. “Robin Spencer, Nancy Underwood’s daughter, helped me. I did all the buying of food and I remember that I went out of town to a market to buy beans and rice in large quantities. I had a VW Vanagon so had plenty of room. Robin managed Feed the Hungry if I needed to go back to the States. She was very helpful.” 

Robin and Mary also looked for food wherever they could get it. “I had a friend who owned a restaurant called Pepe’s Patio. I went there daily to pick up her soup, bread, and sometimes desserts and took it to the kitchens. Rice, beans, and tortillas were the staples. I took any donations of food.” Then they took the food, as Mary remembers, to three kitchens, all located near schools. “We found Mexican cooks and paid them a small amount.” 

St. Paul’s Church would give gifts to children at Christmas, first to the ones served by the kitchens.  Mary recalls that “parishioners gave me clothes and toys that we’d distribute to the children, but so many kids would show up that we would run out of gifts. The next year we made a list of our regular children at the feeding stations and called out the names to be sure that our regulars got a gift first. Then the others. I don’t know where they all came from. Word spreads fast!” 

The connection with the children has stayed with Mary longest. “I was with the program almost five years. Consequently the children got to know me quite well. Years later, I was walking down the street in San Miguel and heard a voice say, ‘Hola, Señora María, ¿Cómo está?’ I looked across the street to see a tall young man. I answered but was a bit bewildered. I asked him how he knew me and his reply was, ‘I remember you from when I was young and ate at the feeding station.’ I was pleased that he would know who I was after all those years. He had changed but I guess I had not – not so much anyway. It also happened to me in a restaurant. A young woman did the same thing to me. She remembered me from when she was a little girl and she was now working in restaurant. Those are blessings to me for which I am very thankful.”

Mary acknowledged that she has always had a special bond with children, and that kept her dedicated to Feed the Hungry. It also led her to eventually leave Mexico because when her grandchildren were born, she knew it was time to return to California. She didn’t want to miss that grandchild experience. 

“I connect with children … and animals.” To make enough money to allow her to return to San Miguel for a couple of weeks every year, she runs a “doggie and cat care service.” She goes to people’s homes and takes care of their animals and, with no small amount of pride, she announced that she was “booked the last two weeks in December.” 

She also looked with pride at having stuck with Feed the Hungry when it had no money, when she had to pick up soup and chicken fat from restaurants, and when no one knew how long the organization would last. “I wanted it to work.”  

Mary’s memories of her 15 years in San Miguel include being president of the garden club, although she did not know the names of any plants; taking part in a poker club; being held up in Pátzcuaro; sitting on a scorpion; and helping start a volunteer group at the Hospital de la Fe, which at that time had only 12 beds.  Doing what she loves to do, she said, and added, “I always have a wonderful time in San Miguel.” 

The following job descriptions were written by Mary Challis in 1991, detailing the responsibilities of the Feed the Hungry volunteers. 

 Coordinator: 

  • Make all bank deposits locally and in the U.S. 
  • Balance all accounts monthly 
  • Make monthly report to the vestry 
  • Check on all committees listed below 
  • Answer or attend invitations  
  • File annual forms for U.S. Tax deduction on checking account 
  • Prepare an annual report for the church 
  • Send annual statement to any donors requesting same (records on card files) 
  • Purchase all secretarial supplies, i.e. stamps (US and local), stationery, envelopes, etc. 
  • Plan the Christmas and Three Kings Day holiday meal and gift schedule 
  • Plan fund raisings when necessary 
  • Paint and repair both stations once a year, at least 
  • Call a meeting of all helpers periodically to discuss possible changes or suggestions 

 Assistant: (Hand-written name is Robin) 

  • Order and deliver all wholesale food 
  • Pay cooks, rent, gas, and tortillas 
  • If possible, help coordinator count the daily money received from the stations, in coins only 

Secretary: 

  • Write all thank-you notes and keep an accurate card file of all contributions received during the year 

 Schedule Chief for restaurant food pick-up and delivery: 

  • Assign 6-8 people to pick up food at Pepe’s Patio Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8:30 am and Sunday at 5:00 pm. (Hand-written names in this section are Dow, Grover, Ros C., Rapps and as back-ups are Penny, Marge Hook, and Cory Gray. Also the note that María has 5 regulars and 2 back-ups.) 

Person for vegetable pick-up and delivery at El Tomate: 

  • Monday pick up the order of fresh vegetables 
  • Monday and Wednesday, pick up donated vegetables 
  • (Hand-written names are I.J. and Herb.) 

Person for chicken oil pick-up and delivery: 

  • Mondays only, pick up and deliver to both stations 10 lts. of chicken oil 

Visitation committee: 

  • Visit stations regularly. Help serve if necessary. Make notes of any problems, conditions of stations, needed supplies, etc. Report to the coordinator. Mainly visit with the children.
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