By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

SUPER VALUE donated $100,000 to the Bahamas Feeding Network yesterday to aid families in need.

The donation was made in a ceremony that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis attended.

A delegation of officials also toured the former Island Seafood warehouse on Claridge Road which has been converted into a distribution centre for BFN.

Philip Smith, executive director of BFN, praised the donation.

“Before the outbreak of COVID-19, we operated out of a modest cottage on Fox Hill Road where we had an assembly line of these amazing volunteers who came together twice a week to prep, cook, package and distribute hot meals,” he said.

“Since the pandemic, we have had to change the way in which we help ease the pain of hunger. With social distancing, we fill cartons and parcels for up to 8,900 families every two weeks as part of the National Food Distribution Task Force.

“Instead of having everyone gather as we did before, the parcels are collected by organisations like the Salvation Army and local churches and soup kitchens and they distribute to individuals who depend upon them. Every parcel has to be accounted for so we are collecting a much better database, creating accountability and still trying every day and with all of our God-given strength to meet the need which, until this pandemic is behind us, is unlikely to diminish.”

Speaking about the donation, Super Value owner Rupert Roberts said: “We at Super Value are proud to donate the sum of $100,000 cash to the Bahamas Feeding Network.

“Philip (Smith) came to see me about two years ago and the commitment we made then was to watch and see what work they did. Today, I am happy to... applaud their efforts, which have been almost beyond imagination. Week after week, month after month, they have kept up the good fight, battling this all too real fight of hunger in The Bahamas. We are proud to do our part and to make it possible for others to do their part through donations at check-out.”