Food insecurity has long been a problem in Haiti, and concern for our local population was amplified after the earthquake on 12 January.  The rise in food prices, decrease in availability, and the influx of displaced persons from Port au Prince all impacted us locally.  Many household sizes increased, some even doubling, putting strain on families to provide for everyone.

While food aid started quite early in Port au Prince, it took time for assistance to reach the countryside.  We received generous food donations from Food for the Poor, local pastor Jean Thomas of Haiti Christian Development fund, and from the Gethsemane Scholarship Institute of Fond des Blancs. We were also able to continue our long-term nutrition programs that are supported by Catholic Relief Services, and fortunately experienced no interruption in that food supply.

Still, we knew the needs were becoming greater so a partnership with World Food Programme was sought. WFP is the United Nations agency in the fight against global hunger and has been present in Haiti for many years, but we have never had the opportunity to work with them. Our staff worked hard in the early months to plan a program and submit a proposal to WFP for assistance, with the ambition of providing a large-scale food program for the Fond des Blancs region.

As a measure to prevent malnutrition, WFP has been implementing blanket feeding programs in several locations in Haiti.  Blanket feeding is not targeted toward already-malnourished children, but to all children to prevent them from becoming malnourished. The target groups are children from 6 months to 5 years of age, and also to pregnant and lactating women as their nutritional status greatly impacts infants from newborn to 6 months of age. Part of the distribution plan is also to screen for severely malnourished children, who are then referred to St. Boniface Hospital for treatment.

We are distributing food in 42 different communities in Fond des Blancs and Villa, and have reached 7000 young children and 4000 pregnant and lactating women - 11,000 people.

The younger children are receiving a product called Supplementary Plumpy, a peanut butter-based therapeutic food, which comes in a small foil packet providing a high-calorie, easy-to-eat snack. The 3 to 5 year olds and the pregnant and lactating women are receiving a product called CSB, a fortified corn-soy flour that is mixed with a small quantity of oil and sugar. This is made into a high-protein hot cereal at home, ideally with a portion being eaten each day.  The Plumpy and the CSB mix are intended to supplement the food already available in the home, and are to be delivered every 2 weeks.

The St. Boniface food program team leaves the hospital each morning to visit the scheduled villages.  Large crowds await them at each location and it is chaotic work, sometimes done under the hot sun. We are working hard, and are very grateful for the assistance received from WFP and from our donors who are enabling us to carry out this important program.