Needs Are Enormous Says Aid Agency Food For The Poor

Coconut Creek, FL (September 24, 2008) – An international aid agency in Florida says donations to help storm victims in the Caribbean have been steady but because of the widespread destruction to homes, property and crops, more help is needed.

To help storm victims in the Caribbean, Food For The Poor has sent more than 160 shipping containers of relief supplies including food, water, medical supplies, personal care items, building materials, and more. While much of the more than $7 million worth of aid has gone to storm-ravaged areas in Haiti, Food For The Poor says it has also shipped aid to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos. Still, the nonprofit says the needs are growing beyond the donations that have come in.

“A lot of people have responded generously to our plea to help storm victims in the Caribbean,” said Food For The Poor’s Executive Director, Angel Aloma. “But the sad truth of the matter is that the needs are so immense, the despair so vast, that what we have shipped so far will only scratch the surface.”

Four recent tropical storms in the Caribbean caused a staggering amount of damage from which it may take years to recover. Food For The Poor says the storms – Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike – left hundreds dead, thousands homeless, and tens of thousands with virtually nothing. Much of Haiti, already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, was devastated by the succession of storms.

Anyone wishing to make a tax-deductible cash donation to help the storm victims should call 1-800-487-1158.

Food For The Poor is also continuing with a food drive to help storm victims. It is accepting nonperishable food at its Coconut Creek warehouse weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The agency says what is needed most is canned meat, canned fish and dry beans.

Food For The Poor is the second-largest international relief and development organization in the nation. More than 96 percent of all donations received go directly to programs that help the poor. Food For The Poor provides nourishing food, safe shelter, necessary medical care, educational materials, support for orphans and the aged, and much more to the poorest of the poor in 16 countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.

Contact:
Hugh Graf
(954) 427-2222 x 6610