High-Protein Soy Products Help Hurricane Victims
First Use in Disaster Settings Goes to Jamaicans through Food for the Poor
September 30, 2004…Food For The Poor, the premier international relief organization working in Jamaica, is responding to the hurricane disaster with textured soy protein (TSP). This is the first time the product has been used in an emergency setting. Food For the Poor is providing the TSP that it had in storage to meet the pressing needs of residents after the southern coast of Jamaica was hit by Hurricane Ivan on Sept. 11.
 Hurricane victims are getting U.S. Textured Soy Protein (TSP) in Jamaica, which is the first use of the product in an emergency setting. Photo credit Food For the Poor |
According to Robin Mahfood, president of Food For the Poor, “Our staff and facilities were prepared to handle this emergency, and we have been able to swiftly aid the people of Jamaica. It is providential that, at this time of great need, we had a fully stocked warehouse that could be mobilized without delay. Our extensive distribution network of churches, hospitals, schools and orphanages enables us to put the relief plan into immediate operation.”
The Florida-based organization has successfully used textured soy protein in its U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-supported programs in Guyana as well as Guatemala to help feed children and adults. “TSP adds a great protein source to the diet of the disaster victims. When used in concert with other commodities, it works very well because it is used both as a meat replacement and as a porridge,” said Food for the Poor Government Program Specialist Cliff Feldman. “After speaking to a U.S. Department of Agriculture official, we committed approximately 80 metric tons of TSP to the hurricane victims from their USDA Food for Progress Program. The agricultural areas of Jamaica were most affected by the hurricane, and the USDA Food For Progress program now becomes more important then ever.”
Groups like Food For the Poor could attain TSP through federal food assistance programs after the soybean grower-led World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH) Program provided government agencies with the technical information on their nutritional value and more. In 2002, Food For the Poor became the first organization to request tsp for its programs in Guyana. “Food For the Poor has been a leader in use of high-protein soy products, and we are pleased they have once again put TSP to use in their important work,” said WISHH Program Director Jim Hershey.
The American Soybean Association and a group of state soybean organizations launched the WISHH program in 2000, Today, numerous state soybean organizations support WISHH along with ASA and the United Soybean Board. Through WISHH, America’s soybean growers are building more bridges between America’s bounty and sustainable nutrition programs in countries where rapidly growing populations of all income levels can benefit from soy in their diets.
Food for the Poor, the 4th largest international relief organization in the United States, works in 16 countries through the Caribbean and Central America. Food for the Poor provides food, emergency relief assistance, education, housing, healthcare and micro-enterprise development assistance to hundreds of thousands of the poorest of the poor. The organization maintained a low overhead ratio of 4.7 percent in 2003. To assist with the relief efforts, visit the website at www.foodforthepoor.org or call 1-800-487-1158.
To learn more contact:
WISHH Director Jim Hershey
at 800-688-7692;
WISHH consultant Karen Coble-Edwards at 703-281-7600;
Food for the Poor’s Cliff Feldman 954-304-3170 or
Ann Briere at 800-487-1158 www.foodforthepoor.org
