FFTP Ready to Respond to Hurricane Milton

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 8, 2024) – As Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, Food For The Poor (FFTP) is prepared to respond with essential hygiene items and cleaning kits to help the most vulnerable families recover, many of whom are still reeling from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago.

Beginning Thursday, FFTP will collect cleaning and hygiene supplies at its Coconut Creek, Fla., warehouse, 6401 Lyons Road.

The drop-off schedule is 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. The schedule will be repeated next week through Oct. 19.

The specific items and sizes needed, include:

Items must be new and must have at least one year left before expiration. For a printable list of items, click here.

FFTP is in close communication with its trusted network of church partners along the Gulf Coast to assess immediate needs on the ground.

Additional supplies, including cleaning kits, generators, and a disaster preparedness kit capable of serving 250 families, are ready to be deployed from FFTP’s warehouse.

A shipment of aid from FFTP’s partner, Midwest Mission Distribution Center, which was initially en route to Florida to help with the response to Hurricane Helene, will now also support recovery efforts for Hurricane Milton in addition to Helene.

The shipment includes 60 pallets of cleaning supplies, tarps, trash bags, and more than 4,000 hygiene kits. Catholic Charities will help oversee the distribution of these much-needed goods.

“We know storms like this can cause devastating flooding, leaving behind a mess for families to clean up,” FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said. “That’s where the cleaning kits will come in handy. And for those staying in shelters, the hygiene kits will be an enormous blessing. We are here to support our communities in Florida, just as we have supported families recovering from disasters across Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Milton rapidly strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane on Monday, moving through the Gulf of Mexico on a path toward Florida, threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay. The approaching storm is setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Helene slammed the Big Bend region and continued a rampage through Georgia, the Carolinas and East Tennessee.

FFTP primarily works internationally but recognizes the responsibility to assist in disasters that directly impact the communities of its U.S.-based supporters, particularly in hurricane-prone Florida.

This commitment to exceptional circumstances reflects the charity’s gratitude for the vital role donors play in its mission and its dedication to providing humanitarian aid wherever it is most needed.

FFTP has a long history of responding to U.S. disasters, including most recently Hurricane Helene in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, Hurricane Francine in Louisiana, and Hurricanes Ian and Idalia in Florida. The charity’s experience in disaster response ensures it can quickly mobilize the resources needed to help the most vulnerable families affected by Hurricane Milton.

To help with FFTP’s disaster response, go to foodforthepoor.org/emergencyrelief.

Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 15 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.

Michael Turnbell
Communications
954-471-0928
[email protected]