In 2019, the Baptist Student Ministry opened BSM Global Blends. Now, the pay-what-you-can café, located on the Edinburg campus, continues to provide the UTRGV community with drive-thru services.
“We decided to continue operating,” BMS Director Robert Rueda said. “We became safe work approved by the City of Edinburg to continue providing services.”
At 12:30 p.m. Thursdays, BSM continues its custom of offering food from Global Blends at no cost to UTRGV students, faculty and staff. The UTRGV community can order for their families as well, Rueda said.
BSM asks people to sign up on its Facebook page if they plan on using its free drive-thru lunch by Wednesday. However, BSM usually posts to its Facebook Thursday mornings about the day’s drive-thru service, Rueda said.
“They can comment on the post and that’ll put them on the list,” he said.
BSM Global Blends also offers its services on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from noon to 2 p.m. During these days, the café is pay-what-you-can, Rueda said.
“It benefits because … whether you may need food or don’t have money to buy food here, you can come and get food and pay what you can,” he said.
The drive-thru service also benefits students by providing encouragement to them, making the café a unique establishment, Rueda said. There are signs that state, “We love college students” and “God loves college students.”
“You come to a place where you know that people genuinely care for you, and they’re really, really wanting to do this to show God’s love to you,” he said.
A person can ask BSM to pray for them at the drive-thru, Rueda said.
“Our staff will pray over that specific student on the spot,” he said.
All UTRGV community members should not feel embarrassed or ashamed to use BSM’s free lunch service or to ask for a prayer, said Gabriela Izaguirre, a campus missionary intern.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help or for prayer from other people,” Izaguirre said. “If you reach out to us, we’ll do our best to serve you and take care of you.”
Providing the UTRGV community food at low-to-no cost is joyful for BSM members, said Frances Doria, a BSM staff member.
“It just brings joy to our hearts when we see the students and how they’re being blessed with this service,” Doria said. “We still care for them, and we’re there for them.”
Assisting in the drive-thru service has also shown members “to be more aware of the community needs,” said Annet del Toro, a BSM volunteer.
BSM ensures the safety of customers, volunteers and staff by following all guidelines of how to be work safe approved, including keeping six-feet apart and wearing facial masks, Rueda said. People can electronically pay through a link provided at the drive-thru. For cash payments, people place their cash into a box, so there is no physical contact. Food containers are also thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
“It’s pretty much a very safe operation, I would say, safe or safer than any other drive-thru restaurant that they might go through,” he said.
Many people assisting in the drive-thru service are BSM student volunteers. They cook the meals, and each one of them has their health license, Rueda said.
“We’re, like, a legit establishment by the City of Edinburg,” he said. “It’s all volunteers, but they all have to be … health certified to be able to provide the food.”
People on campus, such as employees, can request delivery from BSM Global Blends, Rueda said.
“You can always place your … order via text, and somebody will deliver it to you,” he said.
The café plans to stay open throughout summer and will continue into fall, Rueda said.
BSM uploaded a tutorial on how customers can place an order and how a BMS member will deliver the order without any physical contact. It can be found at https://youtu.be/S5rRh4Gx1sk.
Students and other UTRGV community members can find the sign-up link and future updates from BSM at https://www.facebook.com/bsm.utrgv/.
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