A message to our Community
From the Board of Directors of Mobile Comunidad:
It’s no secret in our community that something has gone wrong at Mobile Comunidad. But despite the problems, MC has continued, and will continue to fulfill our mission of serving hot, healthy lunches to FDISD school children.
The board hasn’t made any public statements yet because, truthfully, we’re still piecing together exactly what happened. But this community deserves to know what’s going on, and we will be open and honest about it.
Yes, MC is in a financial crisis. Under the prior management, key obligations were not met, including rent and unpaid staff. The café and lodge were taken back by the landlords. MC was left with $32 in the bank, a mountain of bills, and no way to bring in income other than donations. We found ourselves in a deep, deep financial hole without a ladder.
It is particularly heartbreaking and angering about the staff. These are our friends and neighbors, hourly wage workers who did nothing but show up day after day with a smile for all and working hard at their jobs. That’s wrong on every level. Getting them paid is our priority, and we have applied for grant funding to do so, but that funding is not assured.
This board takes full responsibility for being slow to act on the warning signs, being too trusting, and not intervening sooner. But when action was clear, action was taken. These were hard lessons to learn, and we learned them. We’ve already put strict financial controls in place and taken other steps to stabilize the organization and prevent this from happening again.
While we’re working to fully understand how things went off track, what matters most is keeping our commitment to feeding the school kids. We’ve served over 13,000 healthy meals to FDISD students. About 90 percent of elementary kids count on us for lunch. This is in the county with the highest rate of school-age child poverty in Texas, and one of the highest in the country. What we do is important. Hunger should never be part of a child’s school day.
And this community has shown they believe in what we’re doing. The County and Volunteer Fire Department have let us use the fire station kitchen to prepare school lunches through the end of the school year. The state health inspector got us lined out on using it properly. The West Texas Food Bank has provided food. Bencomo’s Motorport donated new tires for the lunch truck, and Higginbotham’s filled its propane tanks. Citizens and funders have encouraged us to keep going, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.
Some of you have already donated, and we’re deeply grateful. We do need more donations, and we want to assure you that your donation will be used responsibly, with full transparency and accountability. If you tell us how you want your donation to be used, that’s what we’ll do. No amount is too small. And if you don’t trust us yet, that’s okay. You can donate to the West Texas Food Bank and include a note that it’s for Mobile Comunidad’s food.
There’s also been some confusion in the community about whether Mobile Comunidad is connected with the Food Pantry of Jeff Davis County. We’re not. MC and the Food Pantry are two completely separate nonprofits. We’ve supported each other’s work, but we’ve always had separate staff, boards, and finances. The problems at Mobile Comunidad are ours alone and must not reflect on the Food Pantry and the good work they’re doing.
As bad as things might be right now, we see opportunity. We can embrace what’s possible when a community comes together around its children. With your support, we will be stronger, more accountable, and better able to serve Fort Davis for years to come. We’re not just rebuilding, we are creating the organization our community deserves. And honestly, that’s exciting.
For questions or follow-up, contact Todd Jagger, Board President & Treasurer, Mobile Comunidad, todd@mobilecomunidad.org, (432) 756-5522
If you’d like to support our recovery and help sustain the school lunch program, you can scan this code or visit these links to donate. https://bit.ly/donate-to-mc and https://bit.ly/donate-to-wtxfb
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To the Editor:
Thank you for mentioning us in last week’s Sentinel –– writing about the proposed cuts in federal funding to public radio stations, including Marfa Public Radio.
I’m writing as the interim executive director of Marfa Public Radio.
For the average public radio station, the federal funding is less than 10% of the budget. We’re not an average station –– we get about 30% of our funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (which starts out from federal appropriations) — $470,000 in 2025 out of a total budget just over $1.4 million). We also receive a discount for the national programming we use, a recognition by both the funders and the program providers of the importance of making sure Americans have access to this service. While this makes it possible for us to provide the service, the loss of the federal support will be very difficult to sustain.
We will do everything we can to fill the gap, and do what we can with what remains. I have no doubt that the rest of public radio will do the same.
You (Sentinel readers) can help through your financial support, and also by contacting your representatives. Call or write them to say why the service is important to you. If you do, say you are against Rescission (of already appropriated funds) and for continued federal appropriations, which makes this lifeline service to this area possible.
You can find much more at https://protectmypublicmedia.org/ — Protect my Public Media is a clearinghouse of information and ways to weigh in about federal support for public radio and television.
Tom Livingston
Interim Executive Director
Marfa Public Radio