"Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy." (Psalms 126:5)

Food For The Poor is proud to have a longstanding partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on projects that provide food and promote agricultural education for the destitute of the Caribbean and Latin America. The combination of food and education provides both immediate and long-term solutions to the problems facing our poorest brothers and sisters.

One successful and sustainable project in Jamaica is the Rural Economic Agricultural Program (REAP), which seeks to provide homegrown fruits and vegetables to the people of Jamaica. This program provides urban gardeners and local farmers with seeds, tools, agricultural training and techniques to successfully market their crops. In addition, approximately 750 schools across the island participate in the program. Students are taught basic gardening and agricultural techniques, and the vegetables grown help supplement school feeding programs.

In 2006, the USDA chose Food For The Poor to begin a school-feeding program in Guatemala that will distribute a total of 24,600 metric tons of food and milk over a three year period. The program is aimed at improving the attendance, health, enrollment and educational achievement of girls. The food is expected to feed approximately 100,000 schoolchildren each year, with an additional 160,000 children, family members, teachers and caregivers receiving take-home rations. Children will receive regularly scheduled health exams, and parents will be educated about nutrition, health, hygiene, HIV/AIDS, agriculture and the importance of education for children.