The Supreme Ventures Group has announced a $1-million donation towards the Government’s PATH (Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education) programme, to specifically feed children in vulnerable inner-city communities in light of the presence of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the island.

Based on the recent school closure announcement made by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, thousands of students are now at home and will not receive the benefit of the national school feeding programme. The intention is to enable the PATH programme to continue the feeding at home in order to attend to the nutritional needs of the children.

Jamaica now has 19 COVID-19 cases. The pandemic has spread to over 200,000 people globally with over 10,000 deaths.

Deputy CEO, Shared Services and chief marketing officer for the Supreme Ventures Group, Heather Goldson said the company’s response is an extension of its involvement in the community.

“Supreme has done quite a bit of work with at-risk youth over the years and we are very sensitive to the needs of those who are exposed from the drastic scaling down of available goods and services as a result of COVID-19. We wanted to make sure we jumped in and help the national effort, and we decided that contributing to the efforts of maintaining a level of normalcy for these students who are among our most vulnerable would be the best response at this time,” she said.

State minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Floyd Green said the donation is timely, as the Government is ensuring that the vulnerable members of the public are taken care of while attempting to contain the local spread of the virus.

The PATH programme, which was implemented in 2001 by the Government of Jamaica, provides cash and bursary grants to the most needy and vulnerable in the society.