AT 61 years old, Mary McLaughlin has discovered a new passion — one that serves people as much as it does the environment.

It’s the Trees that Feed Foundation, formed in 2008 with the express objective of planting trees like the breadfruit to feed people, while at the same time aiding the reforestation campaign.

“Mary dreamed up the idea of planting trees to feed people and benefit the environment. She had always been concerned about the environment, and about people, and about her home country of Jamaica,” her husband Mike, the secretary/treasurer for the foundation, told Environment Watch. “One day she came up with the name — Trees that Feed. I said this is something that we would both love to do.”

So the duo — who had help from several relatives, including Mary’s siblings — set about setting up the foundation into which just under US$100,000 has been pumped to date .

“We retained an attorney, and formed a corporation in June 2008. We also applied to the US Treasury for tax-exempt status. It is very important for a charitable organisation to have tax-exempt status because it reduces costs, and, importantly, it allows donors to get a tax deduction for amounts they contribute as donations,” said Mary, a native of Spanish Town, St Catherine.

“It is very difficult to gain tax status because the government needs to collect tax revenue, obviously, so they limit tax-exempt status to a small number of bona fide charitable and education institutions. Mike filled out the complex forms, worked with the Treasury Department, responded to a large number of questions, and obtained approval in April, 2009,” added she added.

She has had a rich and diverse career, first as a geologist, then a teacher, then a stint in real estate and later, owner/proprietor of McLaughlin Glazeware, Inc.

At Glazeware Inc, she is the designer behind hand-painted enamel, bone China and porcelain boxes as well as pendants and cufflinks, among other items. Her commissions have included The White House Historical Association, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Northwestern University, governors, senators and mayors.

Still, she found the time to set up the Trees that Feed, which her husband said also required that they appoint directors and find a source for the breadfruit trees they would supply as part of the charity’s mission.

“It’s a long story, but Mary made contact with experts and suppliers in the US, Canada, Germany, Columbia, Costa Rica, Panama, and more. And last but not least, a foundation needs money. We made an initial donation of US$10,000,” added Mike, an actuary and native of Kingston.

Today, Mary lists among the foundation’s goals:

* to help reforest tropical areas with trees that produce edible fruit, in order to feed people while benefiting the environment; and

* to help improve diets in tropical countries while reducing dependence on imported foods and agro-chemicals.

“Our intent is to supply trees for planting in small farms, field margins and urban backyards. We will also work with commercial orchards to that end,” said Mary, who left Jamaica with her husband in 1975.

“We’ve started with the breadfruit tree, which is ideal for our purpose. The breadfruit tree is a prolific bearer of nutritious fruit. It needs no chemical fertilisers or insecticide. It is non-invasive. It is ideal, except for the fact that it reproduces slowly in nature. Trees That Feed Foundation has found a source of tissue-cultured breadfruit trees that can be supplied in large quantities, which solves the problem of reproduction. Tissue culture is a safe process used for reproducing vegetables and flowers, as well as trees.”

In the coming months, the plan is to introduce breadfruit and other trees to countries outside of Jamaica.

“We’ve started in Jamaica, where we know the environment best. But we have also provided trees to Haiti, where they are sorely needed, and soon will be providing trees to Columbia and other countries. Over the next few years, we want to provide 1,000,000 trees to feed people and benefit the environment,” Mike noted.

At the same time, they said that they would continue to donate trees to Jamaica — which only two months ago was the beneficiary of a shipment of 600 breadfruit trees.

“Already we are working with several organisations, including RADA, Northern Caribbean University, and the Rotary Club of Kingston. We will also supply additional mills, which are used to grind the breadfruit into a flour that can be made into other food products, and has a long shelf life. We will also train people in drying and preserving the breadfruit, so there is less waste during the bearing season,” Mike said.

In the years since it began operations, the foundation has donated some 3,000 trees — cared for by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ agricultural station at Orange River — to Jamaica.

“They are distributed as they reach a robust size. Most of the trees have been distributed to orphanages and schools. For example, Alpha Boys School,” Mary revealed.

To do its work, the foundation — which provides trees to various organisations at no cost based on their contributions and fund-raising in the US and Canada — is reliant on partnerships with the agriculture ministry and other stakeholders.

“Joe and Ivy Gordon, of the Jeffery Town Farmers’ Association, are great supporters and are helping to carry the message across the country. We have received enthusiastic support from the Rotary Club of Kingston. We’re also working with Northern Caribbean University, Jamalco, the Forest Conservancy, and more,” Mary told Environment Watch.

The McLaughlins were recently in Jamaica to help strengthen existing partnerships and forge new ones.

“The visit was very successful. We were interviewed by (members of the media) which helps to spread our message. We donated mills to Jeffery Town and Mango Valley Association. We provided advice and support to Diamond Ridge Processors. We had discussions with Rotary and Jamalco. We (also) visited the University of the West Indies to inspect other varieties of breadfruit that were planted there in the 1990s,” Mike said.

But it has not been all smooth sailing for the couple, who currently reside in Winnetka in Chicago USA. The primary challenge they face in running the foundation is money.

“The trees are expensive to buy, inspect, ship and care for. We will soon need additional funds to increase the number of trees we provide,” said Mike.

Still, they carry on. And why?

“There is no reason, other than to feed people and benefit the environment. (And) we want to help Jamaica first, and then other countries,” Mike said.