Logistics Agency Supplies 2.7M Meals for Haitians

FORT BELVOIR, Va., March 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of the Defense Logistics Agency's ongoing support to humanitarian operations in earthquake-stricken Haiti, the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia recently supplied 2.7 million ready-to-eat meals to the Haitian people.

DSCP worked with its industry partners to supply the meals to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which joined with the World Food Program to distribute the meals in the hardest hit areas of the country.

In addition to being DLA's troop support center, DSCP also serves as a first responder during emergencies and natural disasters. The supply center maintains a stock of ready-to-eat meals that can be used in emergencies, and also has agreements in place with its industry partners to produce ready-to-eat meals, explained Ray Miller, deputy director of Subsistence Operations.

These industry partners – about 20 vendors – are ready to go at a moment's notice, and can often provide millions of meals in just days, he said.

In the case of the earthquake in Haiti, DSCP received a request to supply meals to USAID. The center then notified its industry partners of the requirement, and even though it was a Sunday night, the vendors responded that same night and through the next morning, Miller said.

Through this partnership, more than 2 million meals were immediately available to the center, and 22 million meals could have been sent over the next 15 days if needed, he said.

When USAID decided to use only what was readily available, DSCP shipped out 2.7 million meals, Miller said.

DLA is positioned to respond during emergency situations, and over the years has partnered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide relief after hurricanes and other disasters, Miller said. DLA buys and ships ready-to-eat meals to FEMA, which stores or sends them to individual states, he explained. DLA also maintains its supply of MREs at DSCP, which can be tapped into during emergencies.

"Between the two of us [DLA and FEMA], that is the only stock of food that is maintained in the United States for an emergency basis," he said. "We have the program set up that should a disaster hit, we are able then to tap into the industrial base, to expand the availability of meals as we go on over time."

As the Department of Defense's combat logistics support agency, DLA provides the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, other federal agencies, and joint and allied forces with a variety of logistics, acquisition and technical services. The agency sources and provides nearly 100 percent of the consumable items America's military forces need to operate, from food, fuel and energy, to uniforms, medical supplies, and construction and barrier equipment. DLA also supplies about 84 percent of the military's spare parts. The agency has a history of supporting humanitarian relief operations both in the United States and overseas.

DLA has about 26,000 employees worldwide. DLA's business revenues were nearly $38 billion in Fiscal Year 2009. For more information about DLA, go to www.dla.mil.

SOURCE Defense Logistics Agency