Ford Launches Partners on the Go Initiative
Ford Motor Company Fund and the Hispanic Federation launched a hunger relief initiative, Partners on the Go, on Wednesday through the donation of 15,000 meals to the Southside United Housing Development Fund Corp’s (Los Sures) food pantry.
The main goal of this anti-hunger effort is to raise awareness of food insecurity within Latino communities and implement a grassroots hunger relief action plan to help alleviate it.
A central component of the initiative is Ford’s donation of a Transit Connect van to the Hispanic Federation. This small cargo van, ideal for urban settings like New York City, will provide the Federation with greater mobility and support for food pantries throughout the five boroughs and to serve the growing needs of its nearly 100 member agencies.
[ Also Read: Rising Food Prices Causing Hunger in Poor Countries ]“Ford is helping the Hispanic Federation fulfill a key need in the New York Latino community through the Partners on the Go initiative,” said Lillian Rodriguez-Lopez, president of the Hispanic Federation. “Food insecurity is a growing problem in our community. The Transit Connect will enable us to provide additional resources to our member agencies’ anti-hunger programs.”
According to the Food Bank NYC, two out of five (43 percent) Hispanic residents experienced difficulty affording necessary food in 2010. A recent USDA survey found that rates of food insecurity were substantially higher than the national average (14.7 percent) for Hispanic households, with 26.9 percent reporting food insecurity.
[ Also Read: Meals for Moms Campaign Helps Feed Seniors ]“At Ford we support programs that help improve communities,” said Jim Vella, president of the Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. “Through our partnership with the Hispanic Federation we are proud to help New York City families get access to essential food needs.”
The Hispanic Federation member agencies who will receive the food donations are the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services; Comunilife, Inc.; Community Association of Progressive Dominicans (A.C.D.P.); Davidson Community Center; Institute for Puerto Rican/Hispanic Elderly; Puerto Rican Family Institute; Los Sures; and Spanish Speaking Elderly Council (R.A.I.C.E.S.).
