Food for the Poor, Inc.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Food for the Poor, Inc. | |
|---|---|
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| Founders | Ferdinand Mahfood |
| Type | Non-Government Organization |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Headquarters | Coconut Creek, FL - USA |
| Staff | Robin Mahfood (President, CEO), Angel A. Almoa (Executive Director) |
| Area served | Sixteen countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Focus | Impoverished people throughout Latin America and Caribbean |
| Method | Direct assistance of churches and charity organizations operating within in-need areas through the delivery of food, medicine, housing, and other vital goods |
| Employees | 250+ (2007) |
| Website | http://www.foodforthepoor.com |
Food for the Poor, Inc. (FFP) is an ecumenical Christian nonprofit organization based in Florida, USA that provides food, medicine, and shelter, among other services, to poor people in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Food for the Poor, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation.
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[edit] History
In 1982, Ferdinand Mahfood began Food for the Poor to aid the poor and downtrodden in Central America and the Caribbean. Clergy members of many Christian denominations, including Episcopalian,Lutheran and Roman Catholic, provide the core of the organization, preaching and personally distributing necessary items in the poor countries, while going abroad to seek more donations. Members of the laity are also heavily involved, providing aid and resources both alongside clergy and in places where there are few or no clergy members.
In 2000, Ferdinand's brother, Robin Mahfood succeeded as the next President of the non-profit. [1] Since 1982, Food for the Poor, Inc. has distributed more than $3.5 billion worth of food, medicine, housing materials and other aid to the poor of the Caribbean and Latin America. [2] In 2007, the charity migrated its headquarters from Deerfield Beach, FL to Coconut Creek, FL. Currently, FFP employs over 250 people out of its Coconut Creek location, in addition to employing numerous members of the Clergy as speakers across the United States. [3]
[edit] Fundraising
Food for the Poor aids the poor through donations of money and supplies, often from the United States and Europe. Clergy and lay people go on trips in such regions to ask for donations. A vast majority of the organization's revenue is from donated goods.
In 2008, 97.7% of all donations to FFP went directly to programs that help the poor.[4] Accordingly, Charity Navigator awards FFP its highest rating for fiscal efficiency,[5] listing its 2008 organizational efficiency rating to include program expenses of 97.7%, administrative expenses of 0.5% and fund raising expenses of 1.6%.[4] By way of comparison, a lower rated organization, the American Red Cross has an organizational efficiency rating which includes program expenses of 90.%, administrative expenses of 5.9% and fund raising expenses of 3.9%.[6]
[edit] Relief efforts
Food for the Poor provides, as its main objective, nourishment to needy people. The organization also erects homes for homeless families, supplies medicine and health care in hospitals and clinics, subsidizes orphanages, teaches children and adults by providing knowledge and training for the careers.
Currently, the organization is active in eight mainland countries and nine island nations. They are:
and
[edit] Targeted crisis relief programs
In addition to its general community development and direct aid programs designed to reduce poverty and malnutrition, Food for the Poor provides targeted relief for humanitarian crises. On January 11, 2010 it announced initial success in introducing a new food source, the Basa fish, for the critically malnourished nation of Haiti.[7] Then, on January 13, 2010, it announced a major relief effort directed toward the people of the same nation to help recovery from the catastrophic January 12th earthquake which struck Port-au-Prince. According to its earthquake press release "Food For The Poor (is) accepting: cash donations, canned meats, fish, condensed, evaporated and powdered milk, and water. The agency is immediately sending 400 containers of rice, beans, water, blankets, lumber and repairing zinc."[8]
[edit] Angel's Travel Journal
Executive Director of Food for the Poor, Angel Aloma, travels to the places FFP services and records his experiences in a travel journal. The site offers readers a chance to see photos and read reports on the work done by the organization, as written by Aloma. The journal is also posted on FFP's MySpace page.
The journal also offers a comment form for readers to submit both questions and comments for Aloma regarding his journal. Both submissions and answers to inquiries are posted on the mainpage of the journal.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Food For The Poor Background Retrieved 2007-08-29.
- ^ History, Food For the Poor website. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
- ^ New Headquarters. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
- ^ New Headquarters Food For The Poor Website. Retrieved 2006-05-30
- ^ Charity Navigator. "Charity Rating: American Red Cross". http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3277. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
- ^ Food for the Poor (January 11, 2010). "Basa Fish to Boost Haiti’s Food Supply". Press release. http://www.foodforthepoor.org/newsroom/news/basa-fish-to-boost-haitis.html. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
- ^ Food for the Poor (January 13, 2010). "Immediate Relief for Earthquake Victims". Press release. http://www.foodforthepoor.org/newsroom/news/earthquake-in-haiti-1.html. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
