03/05/2021

Three weeks ago, when Philip Smith learned the Bahamas Feeding Network would be tasked with feeding thousands more, which now included 17 Family Islands and one-third of New Providence, he was very pleased to learn of Aliv’s donation.

“This will go a long way in helping us accumulate 15% of the funding required as a zone leader of the National Food Security Task Force, while the Government is investing 85%,” he said. “Aliv’s donation is a testament to the fact that as we give in the way that we should, God shall supply all our needs.”

Founded in 2013, the Bahamas Feeding Network (BFN) has provided more than one million meals. As many as 70 volunteers began by prepping, cooking and packaging hot meals from a small cottage donated by the Davis family in Fox Hill. When the pandemic forced the temporary end of large gatherings, BFN switched its operations to packing parcels of groceries and later refined that to distribution through churches and other organizations as it began to create a database of recipients along with the National Food Security Task Force.

“One of the originalorganizations included on the Task Force is no longer involved and we have been assigned the households they were assisting as well as all the Family I3lands except Abaco and Eleuthera so the demands on the Feeding Network right now are greater than they have ever been,” said Smith. “I cannot begin to express how greatly appreciated this donation by ALIV is.”

“Aliv built this easy to use crowdfunding website for the sole purpose of moving local charity fundraising into the digital age”, said Kendrick Delaney, Senior Aliv Business Developer. “This gift $31,600 was raised through our subscriber plan purchases and other donations raised on TogetherBahamas.com. Similar to GoFundMe, our site accepts Visa or Mastercard donations from all around the world but is securely hosted in The Bahamas. Aliv stands with the Bahamas Feeding Network and the tremendous amount of work they do for our communities. If you are wanting to help, even if you cannot give monies, sharing a link to their online campaign on your social media goes a long way in helping to reach potential donors around the world.”

BFN founder philanthropist and retired businessman Frank Crothers, who was awarded the National Heroes Order of Excellence in 2020 for “exemplary service to the nation” says feeding the hungry is a “basic and pressing need that must be met, even in good times when government statistics indicate that about 13% of the population falls below the poverty line.

“That need is so much greater now with the pandemic-related unemployment and persons struggling just trying to find food to put on the table one meal at a time. We must all dig deeper and find a way to help and I say, ‘God Bless You’ to the people of ALIV and our other donors who have come forward time and again.”

Along with its donation, ALIV re-started the BFN payment portal, allowing donors to contribute online by going to TogetherBahamas.com and clicking on Bahamas Feeding Network.