The Tribune

BDP International, a leading family-owned global logistics and transportation management firm last week made a significant monetary gift to Hands For Hunger (H4H) in the Bahamas.

The money will purchase high-need nutritious groceries for distribution to the feeding programmes of H4H’s 14 partnering social service agencies. The donation coincides with the company’s global management conference, which brings 80 of its leaders from around the world for four days of meetings at the Atlantis resort.

At the conference, BDP executives will address a range of international trade issues, among them regulatory compliance, trade opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean and recruiting the next generation of logistics professionals. However, it is BDP’s contribution that has garnered the attention of 14 social service programmes after their donated groceries provided thousands of nutritious meals throughout the weekend proceeding the conference.

“One doesn’t typically associate hunger with this tropical paradise, which I have visited often and grown to love,” said BDP Chief Administration Officer Frank Bolte. “Yet an estimated one in six Bahamians is chronically hungry. That’s a humbling statistic, and as a successful enterprise it is important to us at BDP to give back whenever and wherever we can.”

BDP’s gift funded a shopping spree for nutritious groceries identified as priority items by H4H’s recipient agencies. These grocery items of fresh fruit and vegetables, high-quality meats and dairy products positively affected the lives of thousands of Bahamians facing chronic hunger and food insecurity, H4H said.

Sunny Dhillon, H4H volunteer resources and corporate partnerships coordinator, said: “We’re extremely gratified that BDP reached out to us and is supporting the important work we do. It’s an excellent example of what we call ‘voluntourism’, whereby visitors of the Bahamas participate in authentic volunteer experiences.” 

Under the direction of H4H, members of the BDP team were involved in a unique volunteer activity, beginning with an educational debrief about the reality of hunger in the Bahamas and the importance of BDP’s contribution. The remainder of their experience was spent distributing purchased groceries and engaging with the kitchen staff and patrons of the Salvation Army’s lunch feeding programme.

Currently in its seventh year of operation, H4H has provided more than 700,000 pounds of fresh, prepared food to those most in need through its food rescue and distribution programme. It’s partnering social service agencies serve roughly 10,000 meals to those most in need of emergency food assistance. To meet the growing need of the estimated 43,000 Bahamians facing chronic hunger and food insecurity, BDP’s contribution will go a long way in ensuring thousands of people have access to nutritious food.

H4H relies on the generosity of personal and corporate donations and volunteer assistance to fulfil its mission. For more information on the organisation or to get involved, visit www.handsforhunger.org or call 327-1660.