Feed the Children, a leading nonprofit focused on alleviating childhood hunger, is providing relief to the many communities hardest hit by Hurricane Ida. In the wake of the powerful storm that made landfall in Louisiana as a category 4 on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and brought catastrophic flooding to the northeast coast, the nonprofit sent truckloads of supplies to the devastated areas of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Thibodaux, and Jean Lafitte, La. With the help of its corporate and community partners, Feed the Children will continue to provide food, water and cleaning supplies to children and families who are still recovering from the violent storm.
Many of Feed the Children’s corporate partners such as Teleperformance and Office Depot have offered their support for affected families. Other long-time corporate partners of the nonprofit, such as Niagara Bottling, Tyson Foods, Starbucks and StarKist have donated product to aid displaced residents.
Feed the Children is working through community partners like Operation Compassion, Reach Out America, Convoy of Hope, Friend Ships Park West, the National Baptist Convention, House of Prayer, Glory Organized Company, Midwest Food Bank Bloomington, and Apostolic Outreach Center to help families in Louisiana, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Those who receive boxes of supplies from Feed the Children can expect items such as:
- Bottled water
- Shelf-stable food and snacks
- Hygiene items
- Face masks
- Cleaning supplies, such as buckets and bleach
- Kid’s Disaster Packs (each backpack includes hygiene items, toys, activities and safety items as well as The Comfort Quilt - a coloring book with helpful counseling resources)
With full restoration of power in the most heavily impacted areas of Louisiana not expected until the end of Sept., the need for basic supplies remains tremendous – especially when you consider their loss of important resources for daily living such as food and access to clean water. And, for those already living paycheck to paycheck, the loss will be magnified. In New Orleans alone, more than 23% of residents live below the poverty line, and many of those who rode out Ida said they did it because they had no way to evacuate.
“Hurricane Ida displaced, and exhausted, many children and families,” said John Ricketts, Director of Disaster Services at Feed the Children and former chairman of the board for National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). “Through our work with local community partners on the ground, our intent is to provide families with much-needed supplies to support their clean-up efforts, as well as their hope for the future. We are calling on communities and partners across the U.S to continue to help our neighbors in their time of need.”
Disasters such as Hurricane Ida are devastating and can be an emotional time for families as they begin to pick up the pieces. With help from community and corporate partners as well as generous donors, Feed the Children is equipped to continue its efforts to support families affected by the historic storm.
“Our neighbors in the Gulf Coast and the northeast are facing terrible devastation, and they are facing this crisis in the midst of a pandemic,” said Gary Sloan, Chief U.S. Operations Officer for Feed the Children. “In critical times like these, Feed the Children is here for those who need a helping hand. Our teams continue to work hard to put recovery supplies in the hands of folks who are hurting right now.”
To learn how you can help, visit feedthechildren.org or follow Feed the Children on social media.