THE New Fortress Energy Foundation is providing support for vulnerable families in Old Harbour Bay, St Catherine and Hayes, Clarendon — areas in which the company operates.

The foundation is partnering with Food For the Poor to deliver care packages worth $3.2 million as part of COVID-19 relief efforts.

“With more families increasingly having to stay home since the first reported case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jamaica, New Fortress Energy, through its foundation, has announced that it is providing care packages to vulnerable families in communities where it operates its LNG plants,” a company release said.

The initiative, it said, is being done in partnership with Food For the Poor to source, package and deliver the care packages.

Verona Carter, vice-president, public affairs for New Fortress Energy, said: “We are very pleased to partner with Food For the Poor to bring well-needed help to the most vulnerable as we go through this global crisis together. With people being laid off from their jobs and students having to stay home, there are many families who are no longer able to find the resources to feed themselves and their families on a daily basis. We are, therefore, happy to be able to help meet the needs of some of these families who reside in Old Harbour Bay and in the Hayes Refinery Council, where we have operations, by supplying them with these care packages.

“We will be distributing these care packages for the next three months, and we are extremely thankful that Food For the Poor has agreed to come on board with us to make these distributions possible in such a short time. On behalf of New Fortress Energy, I encourage everyone to stay safe and remain hopeful as we get through this together,” said Carter.

According to New Fortress, as an important partner in the country’s transition to natural gas, it is part of the fabric of the communities here in Jamaica and, as such, helping communities to grow and develop is central to the vision of its chairman and CEO Wes Edens, who is committed to the social and economic development of Jamaica.

“When New Fortress Energy Foundation reached out to us to partner with them in sourcing the items, package and deliver them to the vulnerable families, it was an immediate yes for us. At a time like this, it’s crucial for us to come together to help those in need as we all face this global pandemic. Food and medicine are critical items for families and our team at Food For the Poor is welcoming donations, small and large, so we can package, with our own donations and bring hope to our brothers and sisters, as we weather the next few months of this terrible virus,” said Andrew Mahfood, chairman at Food For the Poor.

The care packages consist of rice, cornmeal, beans, cooking oil, canned foods, drinking water, juice, crackers, and personal care items. These will be delivered on a bi-monthly basis by Food For the Poor to the families across the two communities. In the first set of deliveries, which were done on Wednesday this week, the energy company also included toys for children.