Support our Hunger & Poverty Relief Efforts

Help End Malnutrition for Thousands of School Children

While Supporting 600 Haitian Farmers & the Local Economy

Join the Fight Against Poverty

Support our Hunger &
Poverty Relief Efforts

At Food For The Poor, feeding the hungry is at the heart of our mission. We prioritize the preservation of human dignity and compassionate care for those in need. Our approach to poverty is rooted in sustainable, community-driven solutions that empower long-term change. From 2019 to 2023, we provided 943 million meals and delivered $3.2 billion in aid to communities across Latin America and the Caribbean. Our growing network of donors and volunteers shares our belief that poverty is not inevitable—it is solvable. Join us in the fight: spread the word, shop from our Humanitarian Gift Catalog, or become a donor today.

School Lunch Program at École de Terrier-Rouge, Haiti

Together We Can Fight Child Malnutrition

Every Gift Matched
Sponsor the Rise & Shine School Nutrition Program

Haiti continues to face a severe food crisis as armed violence, political instability, and economic hardship disrupt food supplies and make nutritious food increasingly unaffordable for vulnerable families. More than 5.8 million people—over half the population—face crisis-level or worse food insecurity. Children are particularly vulnerable. According to UNICEF, acute malnutrition among children under 5 has risen significantly since 2023, with an estimated 254,000 children projected to experience acute malnutrition between June 2026 and May 2027.

To help address this crisis, Food For The Poor launched SHINE (Strengthening Hope through Inclusive Nutrition and Education), a school breakfast program established in October 2024 in collaboration with local partners Acceso and Mèt Fèy Vèt. The organization introduced its Rise & Shine fundraising campaign in 2025 to support and expand the program. Through SHINE, 13,853 children across 29 schools in northern Haiti receive a nutritious daily breakfast of peanut butter and cassava bread. For many students, this simple meal is their only dependable source of daily nutrition. By helping alleviate hunger, SHINE supports concentration, encourages school attendance, and gives children the energy they need to learn and thrive.

Beyond nourishing schoolchildren, SHINE strengthens rural livelihoods by sourcing cassava bread and peanut butter locally, creating reliable markets for 600 small-scale farmers in northern Haiti. By supporting local agriculture, the program generates income for farming families, reduces dependence on imported food, and builds more resilient, sustainable food systems.

Grinding Cassava Roots
into Flour

Mixing Cassava Flour
into Dough

Cooking Cassava Bread on Large
Iron Griddles

Slicing Cassava Bread for
Delivery to Schools

Investing in Haiti's Future

Training, Fair Contracts & Stable Prices
Stronger Rural Livelihoods

A vital part of Rise & Shine is that it strengthens communities by supporting 600 small farmers across six northern Haitian communities. Instead of relying on imported food, the program sources cassava bread and peanut butter locally, creating steady markets for farmers while providing nutritious meals for children.

The peanut butter and cassavas are also locally produced, providing Haitian farmers with training, fair contracts, and stable prices that help them sustain their families and invest in their futures. In a country where food insecurity affects nearly three million children, this locally grounded approach builds resilience. It empowers farmers, keeps resources circulating within communities, and delivers nutritious meals to children who might otherwise go hungry. By feeding students through Haitian-grown food, donors are not only combating malnutrition but also fueling a sustainable cycle of hope and opportunity.

Choloma Farming School
Honduras

Breaking the Cycle of Hunger and Poverty

Building Food Security &
Sustainable Livelihoods

For 1 in 4 parents in Latin America—especially those living in poor remote areas—breaking the cycle of deprivation begins at home, where families often lack reliable access to food, adequate shelter, and stable income. Many are pushed into survival mode—hungry, stressed, and forced to make impossible choices: sacrificing their own meals so their children can eat, or deciding between food, medical care, and school supplies.

Poverty is a vicious cycle that extends far beyond a lack of income. Limited resources make it difficult to meet basic needs such as food, clean water, shelter, and healthcare, leading to hunger, malnutrition, and poor living conditions. In turn, chronic illness and undernourishment reduce the ability to work or learn, limiting future opportunities.

The LIFT (Livelihoods Improved Through Food Security and Training) program is a scalable, community-driven model that promotes sustainable food security and economic empowerment. Through the introduction of small-scale, locally produced nutritious food using climate-smart agricultural practices, participants are equipped to improve household food security while adapting to environmental challenges. The program also provides advanced skills development through Farmer Field School training, enabling farmers to adopt improved production techniques, strengthen their livelihoods, and increase resilience. By building local capacities and creating sustainable sources of income and nutrition, LIFT aims to deliver lasting solutions that reduce poverty and help communities thrive in the face of future challenges.

Growing Fresh Salads for Local
Markets, El Salvador

Greenhouse in
San Antonio Marcala, Honduras

Transformation to Market Standards
El Salvador

Community-based Employment
El Salvador

Program Scalability

The LIFT program is highly adaptable, with initiatives ranging from small-scale family or community gardens to comprehensive, integrated solutions that include food production, processing, and distribution. This flexible approach allows the program to meet communities where they are, scaling support to create sustainable food systems and long-term impact.

Hunger Relief & Self-Reliance

LIFT addresses hunger relief by providing immediate support while equipping families with the tools and knowledge to produce their own food. By fostering empowerment and self-reliance, it helps communities move beyond dependency toward long-term stability and resilience.

Donate a LIFT Starter Kit

Empower Families to Thrive
Revitalize Poor Communities

LIFT starter kits provide families with the essential tools, seeds, and resources needed to begin producing their own food. These kits are designed to jumpstart self-sufficiency, helping households move from immediate need toward sustainable food security.

Livestock Starter Kit

10 laying hens
1 rooster
Commercial balanced feed
Coop Materials
Nesting boxes

Price: $415

Garden Starter Kit

8 packs of vegetable seeds
Organic fertilizer
Seedling tray pack
Tools & equipment
Gardening supplies

Price: $540

Field School Starter Kit

Accommodates 30 students
Learning supplies provided
Access to demonstration plot
Seedlings and other inputs
Stipend for Model Farmers

Price: $3,270

Basic Grain Starter Kit

60 lbs of maize seed
25 lbs of bean seed
Agricultural inputs
Gardening tools
Backpack sprayer

Price: $510

Sustainable Community Development

From Family Gardens to
Thriving Local Economies

Family gardens and animal husbandry are the starting point for food security in remote communities. By helping families grow vegetables, raise chickens or goats, households gain reliable access to nutritious food and improve daily diets. Across communities in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Haiti, families are producing fresh vegetables, raising livestock, farming fish, and keeping bees—reducing hunger while building dignity and self-reliance through local food production.

As families gain skills and confidence, impact expands through seeds-to-market initiatives that strengthen local economies. Farmers in Peru are growing cacao, communities in Colombia are cultivating plantain and blackberries, and producers in Honduras are raising livestock and managing shrimp and fish farms. These initiatives help farmers increase yields, diversify crops, and bring surplus products to local and regional markets—creating stable income alongside improved food availability.

Together, these efforts revive communities and entire regions while helping families build a future where they live. By creating reliable food systems and local income opportunities, communities are better able to remain rooted rather than being forced to migrate to overcrowded cities in search of survival—a cycle that often deepens urban poverty. From beekeeping in Honduras and Haiti to vegetable, livestock, and fish farming in El Salvador, integrated agriculture programs secure food, improve nutrition, generate sustainable income, and help stabilize families and communities for generations to come.

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Turning Traditional Craft Into a Valuable Skill

Handcrafted Bags
Empowering Women With Pride and Dignity

Empowering Women Through Sewing is a collaborative project between Food For The Poor and Mercado Global that creates sustainable income opportunities for women in impoverished communities in Guatemala and Honduras. At dedicated sewing centers, women are trained to produce high-quality handcrafted handbags and other items. Each handbag is a unique piece of art, created by skilled artisans who use traditional techniques passed down through generations—and this is the second year in a row that supporters can purchase these beautiful purses on our website.

By working part-time, artisans can earn up to $8 a day, enough to lift themselves and their families out of poverty within just a few months. Since its launch in 2018, the program has empowered more than 800 women artisans, positively impacting 2,800 people through fair wages, cultural preservation, and economic resilience. All the proceeds from the sales of the Mercado handbags on our website are directly reinvested in the partnership.

SHOP NOW

New Mercado Global Summer Collection

A Hand Up
For the Mercado Women

Handbags are ethically crafted, prioritizing fair labor practices and sustainable production. With each purchase, you're helping prove that we can tackle poverty through sustainable community development.

Buying a Mercado Global handbag provides sustainable income for artisans in marginalized communities, directly helping them support their families. By working part-time, artisans can make up to $8 a day, which is enough to lift themselves out of poverty over the course of a few months of engagement.

Antonia Utility Tote

Price: $98

Shop Now

Felipa Belt Bag

Price: $68

Shop Now

Lorena Backpack

Price: $108

Shop Now

2,800 Children in Urgent Need of Sponsorship

Be an Angel of Hope like the
Angélicas

For decades, mother–daughter duo Angélica Vale and Angélica María have captivated audiences worldwide with music, film, and storytelling. Today, their legacy expands beyond the stage. By joining Food For The Poor as Angel Ambassadors, Angélica Vale and Angélica María remind us that love is most powerful when it is shared. Sponsorship is more than a gift—it's the passing of hope from one generation to the next.

Together, they are raising their voices for the thousands of children in Latin America and the Caribbean who are still waiting for someone to stand with them. Sponsorship is not just monthly support, it's a lifeline of love, a pathway to opportunity, and a promise that no child will be forgotten.

"One act of kindness can create ripples that last a lifetime." - Angélica Vale

SPONSOR A CHILD TODAY

Voice of Impact

From Disaster to Recovery
Building a Better Tomorrow

Explore our video library featuring humanitarian leaders, changemakers, and global advocates addressing hunger, poverty, disaster relief, and community development. Watch conversations with guests including Barron Segar of World Food Program USA, Monica Majors of World Central Kitchen, Shaggy, Cedella Marley, and Angélica Vale, alongside updates on Food For The Poor's emergency response efforts, including relief packing events, humanitarian partnerships, mission trips, and field reports. Together, these videos showcase the compassion, collaboration, and resilience bringing hope to vulnerable communities around the world.

Anti Poverty Programs

How Hunger Relief Becomes a
Foundation for Self Sufficiency

Programs such as Empowering Women Through Sewing and Angels of Hope are created to empower beneficiaries to achieve self-sufficiency and inspire them to build strong, supportive communities. We are committed to finding simple, effective ways to fight hunger and poverty without causing harm to the people or the countries we serve. To ensure a lasting impact, Food For The Poor takes a holistic approach, working closely with in-country partners who implement solutions based on their specific areas of expertise. Explore each focus area to learn more about our initiatives.

Focus: 1

Hunger Relief & Food Security

Urgent needs such as malnutrition or undernutrition need to be addressed before treating other poverty causes.

Focus: 2

Water Sanitation & Hygiene

The WASH Fund program significantly reduces the incidence of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and typhoid fever.

Focus: 3

Health

Stabilizing the health of both parents and children is the next priority after addressing food insecurity.

Focus: 4

Community Development

Fostering collaboration, pooling resources, and creating support systems to uplift individuals and families result in a lasting impact.

Focus: 5

Education

Providing teacher training, school repairs, scholarships, and school meals helps children concentrate on their education.

Focus: 6

Economic Empowerment

Economic empowerment enables families to steadily achieve a sustainable income and ultimately attain self-reliance. It is especially critical in remote areas.

Focus: 7

Agriculture

Providing tools and resources empowers families and communities to achieve self-reliance, enhance food security, and improve their overall diet.

Focus: 8

Emergency Response

Disasters result in homelessness and disrupted food distribution, pushing families into poverty.

Focus: 9

Outreach to Vulnerable Groups

Certain groups such as children, elderly people, and people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to poverty due to structural disadvantages.

Focus: 10

Child Sponsorship

Our Angels Of Hope program currently supports over 8,479 young people across 87 children's homes in Latin America and the Caribbean.