The Tribune

On a sunny afternoon in November, Royal Caribbean International president & CEO Michael Bayley stood in the AquaTheater of Symphony of The Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world as it made its inaugural visit to Nassau, and before an audience of hundreds including volunteers from one of the destination’s most challenged communities made a promise – to fund all the food needed by the Bahamas Feeding Network in 2019.

This week, the Bahamas Feeding Network sent a message back to Bayley and to Royal Caribbean. “Thank you, thank you and thank you,” it read. “We have been able to provide more food than ever before because of Royal Caribbean’s generosity. Thanks to you, we have increased our weekly meals to 5,000 from 3,500 and thanks to funding by Royal Caribbean and our partnerships with local suppliers who also have been so supportive, we have been able to provide more than 72,000 hot meals since January. You are a true friend in the fight against hunger that affects nearly one in every seven people in this country and you are a true friend to The Bahamas.”

The Bahamas Feeding Network has been battling hunger since its launch in 2013. Working from a modest converted home in Fox Hill, dozens of volunteers prep, cook and plate thousands of meals on Thursdays and Sundays. The Feeding Network also distributes food vouchers to hundreds, including to those in need on Family Islands. Distribution of meals and vouchers goes through churches, soup kitchens and other feeding centres to provide support for well-known entities like Great Commission Ministries and The Salvation Army.

Royal Caribbean International’s president was introduced to the Feeding Network in the fall of 2018. He was so instantly impressed, he donned apron and gloves and dug in, dishing out food and encouragement.