Food For The Poor Prepares for Hurricane Season 2019
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 30, 2019) With hurricane season starting Saturday, Food For The Poor is busy securing critical relief supplies that are ready to be distributed should disaster strike.
The charity is organizing four disaster relief kits with essential items that can be airfreighted and distributed within days to families affected in any of the 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean served by Food For The Poor.
Items in the kits will include portable stoves, instant oatmeal, rice casserole meals, personal hygiene kits and blankets.
Each kit will have enough supplies to provide aid for 200 people. In addition, the charity is staging larger container loads of relief goods in its Coconut Creek warehouse that would follow the shipment of the disaster kits when the need arises.
Food For The Poor also is accepting donations of hurricane supplies during a special sales tax-free holiday in Florida that runs from Friday, May 31 to Thursday, June 6.
During that period, sales taxes are exempted on items such as flashlights, batteries, portable radios, tarps, new gasoline or diesel fuel tanks, new generators and coolers.
Residents can bring those items to the Food For The Poor warehouse, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. weekdays.
“The people in the countries we serve start at a disadvantage when a hurricane threatens and it can be devastating,” said Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma. “These supplies are essential in our aid efforts when a major disaster occurs and can mean the difference between life and death. We are grateful to everyone for assisting us.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted a near-normal hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin, with four to eight hurricanes. Overall, NOAA said nine to 15 named storms will develop. This number includes tropical storms.
In 2018, the Caribbean and Latin America were mostly spared from damaging storms, although Puerto Rico and Dominica continued to recover from Hurricane Maria’s devastating blow in September 2017.
The storms hit closer to home last year, with Hurricane Florence slamming the Carolinas in September and Hurricane Michael devastating the Florida Panhandle in October. The charity worked with trusted partners to provide disaster relief to families suffering in both regions.
The 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, and this year includes the names: Andrea, Barry, Chantal, Dorian, Erin, Fernand, Gabrielle, Humberto, Imelda, Jerry, Karen, Lorenzo, Melissa, Nestor, Olga, Pablo, Rebekah, Sebastien, Tanya, Van, and Wendy.
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, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for orphaned or abandoned children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]