Feed the Children Works with Corporate, Community Partners to Provide Critical Food, Supplies to Families Following Hurricane Ian

Nonprofit announces plans for disaster relief efforts as Category 4 storm affects millions

OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Feed the Children, a leading nonprofit focused on alleviating childhood hunger, announced today that it is working with corporate partners including Teleperformance, StarKist, Niagara Bottling and Avon as well as community partners on the ground throughout Florida to aid in disaster response and recovery efforts as millions of Floridians work to recover after Hurricane Ian wreaked havoc across much of the state.

The nonprofit is working with community partners who are onsite including Farm Share, Reach Out America, House of Destiny and Operation Compassion to provide emergency supplies to affected families. These items include shelf stable food, bottled water, cleaning and sanitizing supplies and emergency lanterns. Resources are currently being deployed into communities including Gainesville, Homestead, Ft. Myers and Wauchula and Feed the Children is working to access needs as the storm advances across the South.

Since children often struggle to understand what has happened in the wake of natural disasters, the nonprofit also has 2,500 Kids Disaster Backpacks on-hand to aid in the comfort and recovery for affected children. These backpacks feature hygiene items such as body wash, shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste; safety items such as bandages and a flashlight; a plush toy, colored pencils, pencil sharpener, a spiral notebook and a coloring book called "The Comfort Quilt." The coloring book features more than a dozen illustrations for children to color while an adult reads the text, hopefully prompting conversation about the child's thoughts and emotions.

Families across the state are in the infancy stages of recovery after Hurricane Ian caused life-threatening storm surges, catastrophic winds, massive flooding and left millions without electricity across the state. The effects of the storm are expected to last for several days and affect millions of Floridians and residents in neighboring states.

"We support Feed the Children's disaster relief work because they are experts at mobilizing fast to get help to those in need.  And time is of the essence in natural disasters," said Daniel Park, Head of LG Household & Health Care Americas and President of the Avon Company. "They also have strong relationships with community partners to really understand the needs of local affected areas. At Avon we really appreciate that as our business is based on our Representatives and their communities."

Longtime Feed the Children partner, StarKist is working with the nonprofit to get shelf-stable food and other resources into the hands of affected families.

"StarKist is working closely with Feed the Children to provide our protein products to help families affected by Hurricane Ian," said Andrew Choe, President & CEO, StarKist Co. "It's an honor to provide much needed food and we appreciate our strong partnership with Feed the Children to make it happen during such challenging times."

Teleperformance is also working with the nonprofit to provide food, cleaning items and other much-needed resources to families.

"Teleperformance is always ready to help.  We understand the needs of those affected by the Hurricane Ian and we are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Feed the Children making sure we can support them during this tragic time," said Amber Gregory, Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at Teleperfomance USA.

 "It is only through partnership and the generosity of our donors that we can respond to disasters and reach families affected by tragedy," said Travis Arnold, president and CEO of Feed the Children. "Through our work with corporate and community partners, we can support America's most vulnerable during this difficult time by providing them with food and vital resources as they rebuild."

Feed the Children has five distribution centers in the United States including Bethlehem, Penn., Elkhart, Ind., LaVergne, Tenn., Oklahoma City, Okla. and Chandler, Ariz. which serve as hubs to provide shelf-stable food and much-needed essentials to families across all 50 states and the District of Columbia when disaster strikes. If you would like to support families who are affected by disasters such as Hurricane Ian, visit feedthechildren.org/disaster

At Feed the Children, we feed hungry kids. We envision a world where no child goes to bed hungry. In the U.S. and internationally, we are dedicated to helping families and communities achieve stable lives and to reducing the need for help tomorrow, while providing food and resources to help them today. We distribute product donations from corporate donors to local community partners, we provide support for teachers and students, and we mobilize resources quickly to aid recovery efforts when natural disasters strike. Internationally, we manage child-focused community development programs in eight countries. We welcome partnerships because we know our work would not be possible without collaborative relationships.

Visit feedthechildren.org for more information.

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SOURCE Feed the Children