Across the island of Jamaica, areas once covered with shade trees and lush fruit trees are shockingly barren. Deforestation can ravage communities over time when people living in poverty and lacking other resources cut down trees in their desperate search for wood to cook with and build shelter. After years of tree felling, with no […]
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Called to Help: Change a Life Today
Huddled together in a flimsy shack, Maria did her best to keep her four young children safe during heavy rains and bitterly cold nights. Many families experiencing extreme poverty in the Caribbean and Latin America like Maria’s live without a proper home and go hungry. Jobs are scarce and low-paying at best. All it takes […]
Sharing the Inspiring Story of the FFTP Clergy Speakers’ Family
Going to the annual Food For The Poor Clergy Speakers’ Convocation is like visiting family, like a spiritual retreat, like going to a continuing ed workshop. We speakers have joined a family. As family we share stories. Recently I shared the story of an assignment I had in February. The huge sign outside the church […]
Behind the Scenes: Spicy Sustainability
Representatives from our partner organization in Honduras, CEPUDO, picked us up at the airport and were thrilled to tell us we were immediately going to visit a new project. CEPUDO President Linda wanted to surprise us, so she kept us in suspense for the entire ride. A few hours outside of San Pedro Sula, we […]
Life is Sweeter With Honey: Beekeeping Success Transforms Lives
What can fly 15 miles per hour, loves flowers and supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? It’s the humble honeybee! What better day to celebrate honeybees and beekeepers than May 20, World Bee Day? Bees play an essential role in sustainable agriculture and beekeeping is a key provider of jobs in rural communities. Many small-scale […]
Volunteers at the Heart of Food For The Poor
Volunteers have a hands-on way to give back through Food For The Poor’s new Volunteer Program. The charity officially launched the program in April with its first Hearts United Community Day, an event that brings together schools, churches, businesses and community-minded individuals. Throughout the year, FFTP hosts groups for small packing events and invites volunteers […]
A Servant’s Heart: Indiana Donor Honors Memory of His Mother with Homes in Honduras
Longtime donor Tim Thoman was looking for a meaningful way to honor his late mother, Joyce Thoman, who died last year. He found it by stepping in to complete the funding for 20 homes in Villanueva, Honduras, for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Community Commemoration project. All 20 two-bedroom concrete homes were completed earlier this year […]
MannaPack rice meals provided to Ukraine families by Feed My Starving Children
As a Christian ministry, prayer is at the front and center of all that we do. We offered prayer for the people of Ukraine and we invited you to pray with us. But we also have been anxious to explore other options to help. Food For The Poor is working through Feed My Starving Children, […]
Generations of Hope
In a remote area of Guyana where the literacy rate is low and food insecurity is high, the residents of Baramita Village hold onto hope. Food For The Poor donor-supported projects recently implemented in Baramita include the Food Security Project and a new library with a specific focus on supporting the education of children ages […]
God Gives Strength
The rickety house in Jamaica where Nola and her children used to live was dangerous. Made of wood slats, rusty zinc sheets and other scraps, it had many sharp edges. The children sometimes cut themselves when they brushed up against them. There was no way to keep her little ones safe. During rainstorms, water dripped […]
Celebrate a Very Special Day
Forty years ago, our shared journey began. We’re dedicated to living out the gospel and helping those living in extreme poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean. And we are so grateful for the support of friends like you who make it all possible. Through your generosity, children whose bodies ache with hunger are fed. […]
Share in Our Joyful Celebration
Food For The Poor will celebrate our 40th anniversary on February 12, 2022, and I thank God for YOU. The biblical history of the number 40, which appears numerous times across the Old and New Testaments, inspired early Christians in their dedication to Jesus and the Gospel. God gave each of us an awesome task: […]
Just One Can Make a Difference
By Michael Turnbell When we share the mission of Food For The Poor and the plight of families in desperate need, we never know who may be listening or whose heart may be moved. Longtime FFTP speaker Fr. Tony Palazzolo had one such experience in September at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Cropwell, […]
Relieve Families in Crisis
For 40 years, friends like you have stood alongside us to help poor children and families weather any storm — no matter how devastating. Your faith in God and the kindness of people like you has never wavered. That’s why we’re reaching out to our most steadfast friends, to help families in urgent need suffering […]
Celebrate 40 Years of Faith
Food For The Poor will celebrate our 40th anniversary on February 12, 2022. At the heart of periods when God prepared the world for meaningful changes, you can find the number 40: God flooded the earth (40 days and nights) Israel’s children wandered in the wilderness (40 years) Jesus and Moses were together on Mount […]
A Mother’s Love
Candida loves her daughters and is deeply rooted in her community in Nicaragua where she has lived since she was 8 years old. She is raising her children as a single mother, and would pick through trash in the local dump from sunrise to sunset for a daily wage. Family Ties The moment Candida stepped […]
Meeting Angela
By David Langle, Project Manager, South America In early December, a colleague and I had the opportunity to meet someone very special to Food For The Poor and its donors. Her name is Angela and one of our partners took us to the Roosevelt Institute in Bogota, Colombia, where she has been receiving lifesaving treatment […]
Tiny Greeter, Huge Welcome
Every time the front door opened at a rural nutrition center in Guatemala that I was visiting with our team, 4-year-old Dervy marched right up to each visitor. I watched as he smiled broadly, spread his little arms in a sweeping motion across the entryway and then gleefully shouted, “¡Bienvenido!”, the Spanish word for “welcome.” […]
A Loving Legacy: FFTP Partner Donates Toys in Memory of Beloved Employee
By Michael Turnbell Steve Bryant loved kids. That love and his passion for serving others soon will bless thousands of children in the Caribbean and Latin America. A longtime employee of Gleaning For The World, a Food For The Poor partner, Steve was especially fond of the organization’s Teddy Bear Brigade that collects stuffed animals […]
A House with No Walls
In Nicaragua, Petronila lived in fear. Her home was a dangerous, rickety shack that had no walls. Whenever it rained, water would pour in from every direction. “… We couldn’t sleep because we would get wet,” Petronila said. “The children would miss school because they would get their backpacks and their notebooks wet.” Her worst […]
Haiti Earthquake: 10-Year Reflection
By Leann Chong, Director, Missions & Travel When people find out about my experience in Haiti 10 years ago, they often describe it as a miracle. I wholeheartedly agree! Our mission group from Lynn University had experienced impactful days in the field, visiting our Canteen where we served meals to hungry families, and playing with […]
Haiti Desperately Needs You!
A grave humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Haiti due to escalating civil unrest, skyrocketing food prices, lack of jobs, and hunger. COVID-19 is raging out of control. Without access to the vaccine, new COVID-19 variants have caused cases to rapidly rise in Haiti. “The hospitals are all full,” said Bishop Ogé Beauvoir, Executive Director of […]
Going Home: One Month After Puerto Rico’s Earthquake
By Jisabelle Garcia-Pedroso, Food For The Poor GIK Procurement Manager After I attended a wonderful family reunion in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico over the New Year’s holiday and Three Kings Day, my family and I awoke on January 7 at 4:25 a.m. to a violent 6.8 magnitude earthquake that would imprint a feeling I would […]
Help a Child in Need of School Supplies
Can you imagine going back to school without pencils, notebooks or a backpack? Unfortunately, that’s the reality for so many students in the countries we help, but today you are the key to unlocking a successful school year for children in need. Click www.foodforthepoor.org/backtoschool to shop our Amazon Wish List, and you can choose from […]
Desperate Prayers Answered
Every night, 3-year-old Anisa laid her thin blanket out on the wood floor before going to sleep, crowded into a small corner of the rundown shack in Guyana with her four older siblings. Rain often interrupted their sleep as water leaked through the rusted zinc roof. Their mother, Patricia, plugged the holes with strips of […]
“In our abundance, we are called to give back.”
Not long before our world was consumed by news of the coronavirus, 16-year-old Natalie Anderson traveled to Guatemala with Food For The Poor’s Radio Media team. The best experiences in my life often come as surprises, out of thin air, and my journey to Guatemala alongside Food For The Poor was no different. The opportunity […]
Christmas is coming!
Did you know that for some of the children we serve, your gift will possibly mark the first time they will have received a toy of their very own? Every child deserves a toy and a Christmas filled with joy! This year, we moved up the dates of our annual toy drive to avoid any […]
The One We Touch: How a Small Crocheted Starfish Sparked a Legacy
By Michael Turnbell It was a chance encounter, but one that was forever impressed upon the heart of Dr. Lynne Nasrallah. Dr. Lynne, as she is affectionately known at Food For The Poor, met Filiana on a mission trip to Haiti in 2002. She was being treated for leprosy at Cardinal Leger Hospital. “I remember […]
A Bond Strengthened: A Donor Gives Thanks, Lifts Spirits
By Michael Turnbell I was feeling down. I wasn’t having the kind of productive day I wanted working from home after losing internet service for hours. After four weeks of living with stay-at-home orders, I felt even more isolated. I closed my laptop and went for a long walk to clear my head. When I […]
Island fisherman loses all but his abiding faith in devastating Honduras fire
By Ernestine Williams When fire raged through Bonacca Key, off the Honduran island of Guanaja, 61-year-old Cirilo was among those who struggled to bring the blaze under control, searching for pumps and other equipment to extinguish the flames when buckets of water were not enough. At one point, Cirilo helped transport someone to get medical […]
Answered Prayers
Prayers do get answered, and a young couple in El Salvador received confirmation when they were blessed with a new Food For The Poor home. For years, Julissa, 30, prayed for a new house and a safe place to raise her children. When she and her husband started their family, they were homeless. Year after […]
Help a Child in Need of School Supplies
It’s easy to provide school supplies for kids in need in Latin America and the Caribbean! Click www.foodforthepoor.org/backtoschool to shop our Amazon Wish List, and you can choose from among several critically-needed items, such as pencils, backpacks and notebooks. We will deliver the supplies to children in need in the countries we serve. “School supplies […]
Motherhood: the purest expressions of love, spirituality, endurance and devotion
Food For The Poor staff photographer Hilda Perez writes about the resilient spirit of the mothers we serve. On Mother’s Day we set aside a time to honor mothers. I’m fortunate to still have mine, the center of my universe, but this day of honor can be difficult for those who have lost their mother, […]
Glimpses and Moments: Thoughts from Our Staff Photographer
By Hilda Perez, Food For The Poor Staff Photographer For most of us here and around the world, this year so far has been filled with challenges and for many has been about changes, adapting and enduring. Sadly, for countless people, it has also been about personal loss. I’m grateful and fortunate that for me, […]
Sonali – A Champion for the Poor
Sonali Surve has been a dedicated supporter of Food For The Poor since 2013. Sonali has been collecting food to help families in need for years. Every July, she continues this tradition. Even during the hot days of summer, she relentlessly collects food items despite the challenges it can bring. Sonali has inspired people like […]
Bring Christmas Joy to a Child!
You can bring Christmas joy to children in the Caribbean and Latin America by donating to our Christmas Toy Drive. It’s easy to give through our Amazon Wish List. Please visit www.foodforthepoor.org/toydrive to shop for toys, including art supplies, soccer balls and teddy bears. We will deliver the toys to children in the countries we […]
Join Our New Facebook Group!
Food For The Poor has recently launched a new Facebook group for our donors! Members of this group will have access to exclusive news, stories, videos and glimpses behind the scenes. This special community has been built especially for our generous donors who do so much to help those in extreme poverty. Donors can join […]
Your Christmas Gifts Deliver Hope to Children
Thank you to all of our donors and partners who helped us bring the joy of Christmas to the children we serve. This past Christmas, many of you shared your love for children and took part in our annual Toy Drive via Amazon Smile. More than 2,400 toys were donated from our Amazon Wish List […]
The Healing Power of God’s Love
Siblings, Drucilla, 7, Simon, 2, and Nancy, 9, (pictured above) spent most of their young lives dirty, bruised and hungry begging on the street for money from strangers. But instead of filling the children’s painfully empty bellies with food, their mother chose to feed her drug and alcohol habit. Abused and neglected by their parents, […]
Givers Get Something, Too!
Six-year-old Junior couldn’t have been more thrilled to open a backpack stuffed with folders, notebooks, pencils, Crayola markers and highlighters that came to him and 28 other boys at an Angels Of Hope children’s home in Guyana from more than 2,000 miles away. This past year, employees at Bankers Healthcare Group filled 400 backpacks with […]
#GivingTuesdayNow: Food For The Poor Partners Express Need for Food
The message from Food For The Poor’s compassionate and dedicated partners working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic is loud and clear: food supplies are dwindling fast. The coronavirus pandemic has brought hunger to millions of people around the world, especially in the developing countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. Lockdowns are […]