By Marvin Alberto and Destiny De La Cueva
Paleta Please is a Santa Clarita ice cream catering company with a delicious service and heartfelt mission: to help end poverty in Cancun, Mexico.
SoCal couple Chris and Jessica Pena have a paleta cart available for rental and for ice cream sales. They also own Paleta Please and are the founders of Siestas for Fiestas, which works toward their cause of bringing aid into Cancun, Mexico.
Chris and Jessica got the idea to give back when they briefly lived in Cancun.
“We started going to a church and met a pastor… we just saw the need there was down here and that really moved us,” said Chris Pena.
Jessica and Chris use Siestas for Fiestas to bring clothing, meals, and even housing repairment to many families in Cancun. When COVID-19 hit, Paleta Please’s business came to a halt because there were no events and gatherings to cater to.
“Our non-profit events were cancelled and our paleta cart couldn’t serve anyone,” said Jena Pena.
With a hard hit in sales, Siestas for Fiestas still brings aid through other streams of support and income such as their Cocktail Box, which helps feed 5 people with just one purchase.
However, with vaccinations, business reopenings and families starting to come closer than last year, Paleta Please hopes to generate a comeback for Siestas for Fiestas.
With Paleta Please’s paleta cart and cooler box catering, they hope to slowly ease back into weddings, birthdays, or just an afternoon cookout. The community of Santa Clarita is exclusive to their cooler box option, which includes a dry ice to keep all 24 flavored paletas nice and cold for a four-hour rental.
The company recently started a delivery service that includes a box filled with a dozen ice creams delivered to your door. There is also an option to create custom boxes that can be sent to clients, employees, family and friends.
Paleta Please has been making its way across the community with participation in drive-through events and through partnerships with local stores such as Salt & Freckles, a retail store located in downtown Newhall.
Those who rent out a paleta cart filled with several sweet ice cream choices or purchase a cocktail box sign up to support a larger mission that started with one couple’s dream to end the cycle of poverty.
