Food For The Poor Annual Report Highlights Partnerships, Projects, Emergency Response
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (June 16, 2026) – Food For The Poor (FFTP), one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the United States, provided more than $421 million in aid and services in 2025, delivering vital support to communities across Latin America and the Caribbean. The report looks back on a year defined by extraordinary challenges, strategic partnerships, and the generosity of its donors working together to serve vulnerable families.
“Our annual report chronicles our effort to balance emergency relief with long-term development by responding to major disasters, such as the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, while also helping families and communities build pathways out of poverty,” said FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine. “We are deeply grateful to our donors and our strategic partners whose support enables us to walk alongside the people we serve as we define and implement sustainable solutions that will help them thrive for years to come.”
Hurricane Melissa, one of the largest disaster responses in the organization’s history, dominated the year’s milestones, affecting more than 600,000 people across 182 communities in Jamaica. FFTP was ready to respond immediately after the hurricane passed through Jamaica, working with local partners and teams to deliver pre-positioned disaster relief kits to key locations before landfall.
Because of the storm’s severity, the charity’s response went beyond emergency aid, helping families regain stability and access the services they needed to move forward. Today, FFTP is focused on recovery and on providing safe housing while helping families rebuild stronger and feel confident about their future.
The FFTP annual report also shares details about the SHINE (Strengthening Hope through Inclusive Nutrition and Education) Breakfast Program, which provides a nutritious breakfast to children in northern Haiti. Made possible by generous donors, SHINE serves 10,000 students in 29 schools, while also strengthening local livelihoods by sourcing 100 percent of ingredients locally.
The SHINE Program is a component of the charity’s commitment to making meaningful progress through its 10 focus areas, which are also featured in the annual report. They include Hunger Relief & Nutrition, Water Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH), Agriculture & Food Security, Community Development, Education, Economic Empowerment, Health, Emergency Preparedness & Response, Outreach to Vulnerable Groups, and Child Well-Being.
In addition, the annual report focuses on key partnerships, donors, and programs that support FFTP’s mission-driven work. Highlights and partners include:
- • National Commercial Bank (NCB) Jamaica Foundation, which formalized a national partnership with FFTP-Jamaica and other key organizations through the Building a Better Jamaica Fund 2.0, mobilizing more than $500 million for hurricane recovery.
- • Heart to Heart International, which provided nearly 35,000 relief kits, including 27,000 for Jamaica and 7,800 for the Dominican Republic, as well as 3,600 hygiene kits for Haiti via a humanitarian air bridge and 18,000 oral rehydration packets for Honduras. Separate from its hurricane relief efforts, Heart to Heart completed 19 shipments valued at more than $10.25 million, delivering medical supplies and pharmaceuticals to the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica and Haiti.
- • Feed My Starving Children, which provided 100.9 million meals in the first half of 2025 alone, freeing local partners to invest in education, health, and community programs.
- • Latin American icons Angélica Maria and Angélica Vale, who joined FFTP as Brand Ambassadors for Angels Of Hope, a child sponsorship program that offers safe havens for vulnerable children. Beloved throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America, this mother-daughter duo helped more than 440 children gain sponsorship.
- • Nativity Catholic Church, in Burke, Va., which donated a record gift of more than $719,000 through its Operation Starfish campaign – the largest gift in its 27-year partnership with FFTP. The gift is funding Nativity’s 15th village in Haiti, as well as new health clinics in San Juan, Guaimaca, and Monteverde, Honduras.
- • Monsignor Frances Xavier Schmidt, 94, founder of Father Chuck’s Challenge, an all-volunteer ministry that has partnered with FFTP for 18 years to build schools, clinics, fishing villages, income-generating projects, and more than 1,700 homes across Latin America and the Caribbean.
- • Fifth-grade students at North Broward Preparatory School in Coconut Creek, Fla., who showed that compassion runs deep in the hearts of children by raising $45,000 to build a school in Honduras.
- • Lisa Struble and BANDED, her all-women-led accessories company demonstrated the powerful role businesses can play in advancing humanitarian work by providing meals to children through its partnership with FFTP.
Details about these and other highlights are provided in the FFTP 2025 Annual Report. Click here to see the report.
About Food For The Poor
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the United States, is committed to facilitating paths out of poverty and transforming lives. As an interdenominational Christian ministry, we help families across Latin America and the Caribbean. Our efforts span urgent humanitarian relief and long-term development – from emergency aid and hunger alleviation to education, housing, and economic empowerment. We follow a distinctive approach that integrates faith, multi-sector strategies, and trusted partnerships. Whenever possible, we strive to work at the community level, partnering with local leaders and residents to co-create sustainable solutions that address the multi-dimensional nature of poverty. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.
Ernestine Williams
Communications
305-321-7342
[email protected]
