#GivingTuesdayNow: Food For The Poor Donors Provide More Than 6 Million Meals
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 14, 2020) More than 6 million meals will feed hungry families affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the Caribbean and Latin America, thanks to the generous support of Food For The Poor donors on #GivingTuesdayNow.
Food supplies are dwindling fast as people in the countries served by the charity are sheltering at home, unable to travel to buy scarce food that is available. Many have lost jobs or are unable to work.
“The generous donations we received will feed so many children and families in this time of crisis,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “Our hearts are filled with gratitude.”
#GivingTuesdayNow, on Tuesday, May 5, was a global day of giving and unity in response to the unprecedented needs caused by the coronavirus. It was an extension of the annual #GivingTuesday, which occurs every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
The charity’s donors raised enough funds to provide 6,255,240 meals, making a difference for people like 44-year-old Julianne, who was earning a living as a school janitor in Jamaica until the government closed all schools due to the pandemic.
Without an income, Julianne finds it difficult to care for her two children. Even so, she is grateful for the food provided by Food For The Poor’s donors.
“The food package will make a lot of difference because when you don’t have money to buy certain things, this will come in handy,” she said. “I am just thankful.”
Individuals who previously didn’t meet the charity’s requirement for assistance in Jamaica are now suffering from hunger, said Susan James Casserly, Food For The Poor’s Jamaica Project Manager.
“It’s a challenge for many individuals to be able to make a living for their family in the best of times. This crisis has multiplied that,” she said.
“Food For The Poor is called to help the churches, to minister to those who need it the most, to be able to not turn away someone because they don’t have enough food, but to be able to go to them and say this is what God has provided for you,” she added. “This is what the donors of Food For The Poor have provided for you.”
In Guatemala, destitute families were already affected by extreme poverty, malnutrition and lack of employment – conditions that have only worsened because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“When we visit, we try to reassure them, teach them the rules of social distancing and reinforce hygiene, but mostly we tell them to pray,” said Francisco Rubio, of Caritas Arquidiocesana, one of the charity’s partners in Guatemala.
Families in rural communities are worried and scared.
“In these communities, there is no means of transportation to be able to buy the food needed,” said Don Efrain, who lives in Sansur, Guatemala. “This moment is a very sad one for us in the rural areas who live far from the center of the country.”
In Honduras, the distribution of relief packages to remote areas has been difficult. But staffers from CEPUDO, the charity’s in-country partner, have been very willing to go that extra mile, said Carlos Coello, CEPUDO Project Director.
“When you see and feel the gratitude of the people receiving the aid, it makes everything worth it,” he said.
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 and 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]