The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

WITH the hurricane season still upon us, local non-profit organization Hands For Hunger has been preparing to respond to the hunger needs of those in the community after a storm.

Each year H4H prepares for the possibility of a natural disaster while also balancing the existing, ongoing needs of the 43,000 Bahamians who face chronic hunger on a daily basis.

H4H is a registered not-for-profit Bahamian charity led by a volunteer board of directors, a small staff and fueled by the efforts of over 600 dedicated volunteers annually. It is committed to the mission of ending hunger in the Bahamas.

According to the organization's executive director Zeleka Knowles, H4H has been preparing for hurricane season for the past few months. And in the lead up a canned food drive in the Harbour Bay Shopping Plaza was held.

"Our focus has been to deliver all the canned foods and non-perishable items in our pantry to our partner agencies with a deliberate emphasis on the needs of the New Providence Community Centre. The NPCC is not only where our office is located but is also one of the hurricane relief shelters for the western part of the island," Mrs Knowles said.

The organization was able to deliver 1,600lbs of food to the NPCC along with cases of water donated by Coca Cola.

"Our Paradise Plates community allowed us to donate popsicles, courtesy of PopStop to the children at Elizabeth Estates Children's Home, and Chef Horatio Smith who worked with us at last year's Paradise Plates event volunteered his service to the NPCC kitchen for the duration of the storm.

Mrs Knowles said the team at Hands For Hunger will continue to assess and address the needs of recipient agencies. It will continue distributing non-perishable food items in the aftermath of the storm.

"We learned last year, with Hurricane Matthew that the food needs increase after a storm and the availability of food is not always guaranteed as supplies to the island are delayed and food stores, restaurants and hotels are also trying to recover from the storm. This year, in anticipation of such a delay, we organized a Hands For Cans initiative where we were able to collect a significant amount of canned goods and non-perishable items as well as a great deal of monetary contributions, all of which will go towards hurricane related food relief," Mrs Knowles said.

The ambitious task of ending hunger in the Bahamas requires the support and generosity of donors. For that matter the organization is appealing to members of the general public to support its upcoming signature fundraiser, Paradise Plates to be held on September 30 at the Grand Ballroom at the Atlantis Resort from 7pm-11pm.

For more information log on to www.handsforhunger.org.