Food for the Poor: SUPPORTING SELF-RELIANCE, MEETING THE NEEDS

 

Food for the Poor

 

Along the way to the Food for the Poor Jamaica complex, occupying on the main Spanish Town bypass, street vendors of various kinds festoon the roadway alongside brick and mortar businesses and other industrial enterprises. Essentially a fixture after many years, they may be viewed as entrepreneurs

Encouraging a more community-minded entrepreneurial spirit is what the folks inside the sprawling and imposing structure are increasingly focused on. What began with small-scale food distributions in Kingston has now grown into a massive network of individuals and corporate entities dedicated to lifting Jamaicans out of poverty.

While that dedication initially had as its expression the nourishment of the poor, FFP has long since grown way beyond that marker. To the “Food” in its name, the organization has added homes for the homeless (over 35,000 since its founding), the provision of medical supplies and equipment, and the training of teachers and caregivers. More than 295 schools have been assisted, some 100 schools have been built since 2012, and the organization also provided computers and workstations to schools.

But even those numbers don’t portray the breadth nor the emphasis on supporting self-reliance. FFP has programs in place to train people in Farming, animal husbandry and aquaculture development. With fishing, for instance, that metaphor of self-reliance reflected in the adage “give a man a fish, you feed him for day; teach him to fish, you feed him for life” is being backed by tangible support. At 15 fishing villages around the island, men have been equipped with 69 boats; so not “taught to fish” but specifically given the vital means by which they may pursue the livelihood. Similar projects provide water tanks to facilitate rainwater harvesting, which in turn supports cash crop and other agricultural enterprises.

Of course, the feeding aspect continues as do the other forms of physical care; Nearly 350,000 Jamaicans are fed each month through feeding centres The Our Lady of the Poor Clinic serves over 4,200 patients every year Our Angels Of Hope program cares for 414 children. Food ForThe Poor today includes more than 1,800 churches as partners in the distribution of the aforementioned food, medicine, educational supplies and other needed items. With the onset of the COVID pandemic, that relief is more vital than ever, and the economic challenges have pressed donors at all levels

Development and Marketing Manager Marsha Burrell says that the organization has thus far met those challenges, “our donors responded tremendously well in 2020, and have really helped us to answer the call; we truly appreciate their contributions, not just monetary or material, but of their time and attention and skill. That has really helped us to adapt to the changing realities, and we intend to deepen that process.”

She attributes the success to the core quality of the organization. “We are a family here, we do what we do primarily out of love and the commitment to see to the needs of our community, not just because it is right, but because we truly regard each other as brothers and sisters.”

Throughout the massive warehouses and the loading bays and the containers and into the offices and  meeting rooms, that spirit of love and concern for fellow man reverberates – expressed both in the direct relief offered and in the infusion of a “can-do” spirit, that in turn enables others to grow, prosper and turn their attention to their own communities.

 

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