Food for the Poor in Jamaica
Jamaica -- Food for the Poor and Salvation Army jointly provided Christmas meals for 1,000 people in Kingston, Jamaica.
Several of those present were prisoners whose fines were paid by Food for the Poor to release them during the holiday freedom. FFP paid outstanding fines ranging between $6 and $12 to guarantee the freedom of those detainees who were in prison for non-violent crimes such as stealing food.
The releases were made possible by the Prison Ministries department of Food For The Poor Jamaica, and saw persons from three prisons benefiting. According to Robin Mahfood, president of Food For The Poor,
The people that we have helped have paid their debt to society, and are all eager to begin productive lives. We will help them as they reestablish themselves in their communities with food, shelter and other assistance.
FFP is the 4th largest international relief organization in the U.S., and has provided aid in over 16 countries in the Caribbean and Latin America alone. In the last 21 years, with the partnership of our many donors, FFP has shipped over $1.5 billion in aid to the region. The street feeding program, which has been in operation for the last 15 years, is a partnership between Food For The Poor, who provides the food, and the Salvation Army, who prepares and distributes it. FFP also provides emergency relief assistance, education, housing, health care and micro-enterprise development assistance to hundreds of thousands of the poorest of the poor in the region.