Food For The Poor’s 2016 Annual Report: The Charity Remains Committed to Helping Families Recover from Hurricane Matthew

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 2, 2017) Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the United States, shipped 4,095 tractor-trailer loads of essential goods and provided nearly $1 billion in aid in 2016, according to its recently released annual report.

With an administrative ratio of less than 5 percent, the organization built 9,430 housing units in 2016 for families in need of secure shelter, bringing the total to more than 117,000 housing units since 1982. Food For The Poor also provides agriculture, aquaculture and animal husbandry projects in the communities where the homes are built.

“Our mission always has been to lift as many families as possible out of poverty to the point of self-sufficiency. These families aren’t looking for handouts, they just need an opportunity to benefit from the work of their own hands,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “When a family gets a house, when a child attends school or when the sick receive needed medical care it is because of your generosity. It’s truly a blessing for everyone, both the donor and the beneficiaries.”

Thanks to the loving support of its donors, Food For The Poor responded quickly with aid to families who lost everything, including their crops, when Hurricane Matthew made landfall on Oct. 4, 2016, along Haiti’s southwest peninsula. By the end of 2016, Food For The Poor had built 316 housing units and delivered 140 tractor-trailer loads of lifesaving food and supplies. Food For The Poor continued to help that region of Haiti recover by building an additional 770 housing units, for a total of 1,086 housing units as of February 2017.

In 2016, Food For The Poor donors also:

• Provided 686 tractor-trailer loads of medicines and medical supplies.
• Provided 158 tractor-trailer loads of school furniture, books and supplies.
• Provided 118 tractor-trailer loads of clothing and shoes.
• Provided almost 618 million meals to feed malnourished children and their families.

Through the Angels Of Hope orphan sponsorship program, compassionate donors are assisting in the care of 6,149 children in 157 homes, giving them a chance for a brighter future.

Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. Over the last 10 years, fundraising and other administrative costs averaged less than 5 percent of our expenses; more than 95 percent of all donations went directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Wanda Wright

Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
[email protected]