Rainforest Seafoods, National Baking Company to feed 10,000 families
Rainforest Seafoods and National Baking Company have partnered to donate 10,000 meals to 10,000 families across Jamaica.
The initiative, being done in conjunction with Food For The Poor (FFP) and the Jamaica Red Cross, aims to help relieve the burden of accessing food by some of the country’s most vulnerable due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
With the
issue of hunger expected to worsen amid the virus’ impact, the two leading food
producers are preparing to assist the fight.
Rainforest
Seafoods, Director of Corporate Relations, Roger Lyn, said, “In the grand
scheme of things, our donation is a drop in the bucket. However, we hope it is
the start of a national effort to both raise awareness and much-needed funds to
continue the distribution of food items to those most in need.”
Lyn added, “We’re
proud to partner with Food For The Poor and The Jamaica Red Cross, two
outstanding charitable organisations, who will distribute the meals fairly and
transparently to 10,000 families, ensuring those most vulnerable will benefit.”
Prior to the
onset of COVID-19, FFP was providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of
people, a number that is thought to have increased.
The
organisation’s director, Kivette Silvera said, “While we do not have the official
statistics on the number of persons that have been negatively impacted by the
virus, what we do know is that before COVID-19, we were serving over 400,000
Jamaicans island-wide.
“Since the
onset of the pandemic, this number has increased substantially, and so the need
for donations has intensified based on the increased demand for
assistance.”
Silvera said
the increased need has made partnerships with Rainforest and National more
significant.
For his
part, National Baking Company’s, Director of Sales and Marketing, Craig
Hendrickson, said “The pandemic has intensified the challenges for those
having to cope with everyday uncertainties of livelihood, and while there is
much more to be done, each life enhanced by this donation is counted as a great
win in our books – as we work towards bettering the lives of our people.
“In Jamaica,
food security continues to be a significant challenge requiring continuous
attention and partnership, and we will need all hands on deck in creating
sustainable change.”
