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Community : Service Organizations Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


Bahamas National Feeding Network Donates $40,000 to Feed the Hungry
By Diane Phillips & Associates
Feb 6, 2015 - 2:01:55 PM

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Recently Appointed Directors – The Bahamas National Feeding Network recently appointed Philip Whitehead (left) and Patricia Hermanns to the board. Pictured l- r: Philip Whitehead, Executive Director Philip Smith, Patricia Hermanns and H.E. Frank Crothers. (Photo by Kovah Duncombe.)

In its continuing fight against hunger, the Bahamas National Feeding Network (BNFN) today donated $40,000 in vouchers enabling those who feed the hungry to serve as many as 60,000 hot meals.

“In a land of sunshine, there is another darker, sadder world,” said Philip Smith, BNFN executive director. “These are people who have either lost their jobs or lost their way, grown too old to work or too neglected to be noticed. They face hunger on a daily basis. Fortunately, for them, there are all of you who are here today – you, who provide hot meals and comfort, operate soup kitchens and church feeding centres. You are the real heroes in the war against hunger and we are pleased to partner with you to make what you do even more meaningful.’’

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Feeding the Nation – The Bahamas National Feeding Network distributes $40,000 in vouchers to more than 50 organizations that feed the hungry in the community. (Photo by Kovah Duncombe.)

It was the second time in months that the newly established network, the brainchild of H.E. Frank Crothers, and chaired by Felix Stubbs, donated retail food store vouchers to churches and other feeding organisations. In November, the network distributed $30,000 in vouchers.

The two combined donations are estimated to provide more than 100,000 meals with needs still greater than the network can meet.

During the November presentation Dianne Bingham, representing Fox Hill’s Mosseff House, which her family started and continues to support, shared what she called the “tragic stark reality.”

“The national poverty rate of The Bahamas in 2013 was stated as 12.5%, up from 9.3% in 2001,” said Bingham, quoting an official household survey that based its poverty level on $11.64 a day, the money it calculated would be needed to cover basic essentials and a low-cost diet. “Those numbers are startling when you consider that the highest rate of unemployment – therefore the greatest probability of not rising above the poverty level through legal means – is among those under the age of 25 where the unemployment rate hovers at about 30.6%, according to the same survey.”

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Bahamas National Feeding Network Executive Director Philip Smith, right, and newly appointed Director Elaine Pinder, right, distributed $40,000 in food vouchers recently to assist those who feed the hungry, including Ryan Barnett, guidance counsellor at Stephen Dillet Primary School. (Photo by Kovah Duncombe.)

At the same event just before the holidays, Salvation Army Divisional Commander Major Lester Ferguson, who also serves as a director of the Feeding Network, the extent of poverty in The Bahamas is far greater than most people realize. He sees the impact daily of higher than normal unemployment -- crowded households, poor health care, hopelessness, despair. He’s also seen what a helping hand can mean.

“Every week, dozens of people stand outside just waiting for us to open the doors and by the time we are serving, we could have up to 200 people – young, old, formerly employed, down on their luck – they all come together because they know there is comfort, hot food and spiritual companionship,” he said. “What the Feeding Network represents is the opportunity to assist many more and to do so in a way that is efficient, timely and so desperately needed.”

Among today’s recipients were the Catholic Archdiocese and the Anglican Archdiocese, representing 23 churches between them. Other recipients included the Bahamas Red Cross, Bethel Baptist Church, Brea Seventh Day Adventist, Calvary Bible Church, Club Restoration, Cornerstone Zion Ministries, Cornerstone Haitian Church, Cornerstone Zion Christian Partners of Hope, Ebenezer Methodist Church, Eljay's Hilltop Cottage Ministries, Family of Faith Ministry, Great Commission Ministries Intl., God Temple of Praise, Judea Baptist Church, Kingdom Ambassadors World Outreach Ministries, Lakeview Church of God, Mosseff House, Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Mt. Paran Baptist Church, New Bethany Baptist Cathedral, New Life Restoration Ministries, New Mount Zion Missionary Church, Operation SOLD, Pentecostal Baptist Church, Remnant Tabernacle of Praise, Sanctuary of the Redeem, Shiloh Temple Baptist, Society of St. Vincent DePaul, Solid Rock Church, South Andros Christian Center, St. Joseph’s Church, Stephen Dillet School, The Anglican Diocese, The Salvation Army, Vision of Hope Cathedral, World of Hope Ministry, and Youth for God Through Christ.



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