Beyond The Plate – A Podcast by Food For The Poor
Food isn't just delicious... it can also change your life! Tune into Beyond the Plate, a new podcast presented by International Charity: Food For The Poor. Get inspired with conversations that nourish the soul. Hear amazing stories of transformation from faith influencers, leaders in the nonprofit sector, and the individuals receiving aid in the 15 countries of Latin America that Food For The Poor serves.
Beyond The Plate – A Podcast by Food For The Poor
Ep. 26 - FFTP Responds: CEO Ed Raine on Hurricane Melissa
Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm struck Jamaica on Tuesday October 28th. The devastation is so severe, the road to build back will be measured in months and years... not days. Food For The Poor, President/CEO, Ed Raine, unpacks how a deeply rooted network of partnerships and detailed preparation turns urgency into action: pre-positioned kits moving the moment the storm passes, church partners covering every corner of the island, and a command center that syncs government and private logistics to reach people without wasting a minute.
We discuss what matters first—clean water, hygiene, tarps, oral rehydration, women’s care kits, and baby supplies—and how blocked roads and power outages make coordination difficult. Ed widens the lens to see the damage: supermarkets and airport in Montego Bay flooded, hotels damaged, tourism paused, and wages stalled for thousands of families who rely on a steady economy. Recovery isn’t just cleaning mud and repairing roofs; it’s restarting lives. Once that happens, the long road of recovery begins: zinc and materials for homes, then training and market access for farmers and fishers tomorrow, so subsistence can become sustainable income.
Ed shares the personal stakes—staff still waiting to hear from loved ones, small towns hit hard, and the resilience that defines Jamaican communities. The goal is simple: meet urgent needs without losing sight of what brings dignity back to Jamaicans. Listen, share, and be part of the coordinated relief and rebuilding effort. Subscribe for updates, leave a review to help others find this story, and consider donating at www.foodforthepoor.org/Melissa25 to turn compassion into action.
To Donate to Hurricane Melissa Relief: www.foodforthepoor.org/Melissa25
Beyond The Plate is a podcast by international charity, Food For The Poor
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Hurricane Melissa arrived in Jamaica and just completely decimated the entire island.
SPEAKER_02:There's a person behind every one of these homes, towns. It's personal. Everybody's got a story. Everybody's going to have a different level of need as the island sort of picks up the pieces here. You just gotta literally scrape the mud off and start again. They will find a way to thrive, but they're gonna need a lot of help. And there's a lot of people working extremely hard. The only way this can work is through a unified and coordinated approach. We're connected and open line communication the whole time so that the left and the right hand really know what's what's going on.
SPEAKER_00:This is Food for the Poor, but we're not just food. We go beyond the plate to discuss a full range of development programs, all designed to break the cycle of poverty.
SPEAKER_01:By empowering people with the tools and training they need to transform their lives for generations to come.
SPEAKER_00:These stories will inspire you, and best of all, you can be part of the change that takes place.
SPEAKER_01:Join us as we go beyond the plate. Well, welcome to Beyond the Plate. Um, it is with heavy heart that we actually have this episode. A lot of times we we talk about the mission of Food for the Poor, and um we have um an opportunity to talk with a bit of urgency and seriousness. This is this actually this actually hits home. This really hits home. Um, not only for me personally, um, but it hits home for pretty much everybody in this building, including our guest, president, CEO of Food for the Poor. Ed Rain, welcome, Ed.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you guys. Good to be here. Uh and yes, uh, I'm married to a Jamaican. Uh, she grew up in Kingston, and uh so she has a brother and sister there, and uh we know so many people. So, you know, the anxiety in this building was palpable this week.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Uh and I know for sure that there's many people who have not heard yet from their relatives.
SPEAKER_01:On Tuesday, October 28th, while many of us were beginning our day, sending our children to school, going to work, activities, uh three million people in Jamaica were being pounded with probably the uh largest hurricane that has set foot on Jamaica's soil, if not the entire Caribbean in the Atlantic Basin. Ninety years, right? Okay. Category five, Hurricane Melissa, uh arrived in touch ground on New Hope, Jamaica, the southwest portion of Jamaica, and just completely decimated not just the western, southwestern, but we're talking about the entire island. Now, last year, uh the last time we had you on Beyond the Plate, we were talking about Hurricane Beryl, which grazed the southern part. And it was by no means a small hurricane. The thousand homes were completely destroyed. But this is a lot different, Ed.
SPEAKER_02:This this storm really This feels more like you should compare it to Hurricane Andrew. We were saying that for many of us, including myself, you know, and family members whose houses were impacted, destroyed uh back then. And and so the nightmare of Hurricane Andrew returns to us. But it's that severe. And that eye of the storm that across that western part of Jamaica is like it's been described to me as like it's it's like a buzzsaw. It just, you know, it's a tornado. So we don't even know what the uh, you know, what the the status is. We can't talk to people. Like I I was told that even our mission yesterday to go west only got as far as Black River, the hospital there, and and there were no roads uh accessible beyond that, further west. So, you know, we wait uh patiently to hear, but uh we're very very nervous for some of those communities.
SPEAKER_00:Where do you start to rebuild or think about where do I put all this stuff together so I can now move on with what's next?
SPEAKER_02:Well, you know, uh I think the first part is that uh you look around you to see where you can get some immediate support. And uh typically that's either going to be the you know, the municipality that'll they have something set up, or the church. Yeah. So, you know, for Food for the Poor, we've got 42-year history in Jamaica, and on a routine basis every month, uh we send out distributions to just almost 40 different um, and they're all nearly all churches. So, and then they send out to other churches, all denominations across the island. So we have this kind of complete network of distribution in Jamaica already. We've had it for years. So what's sort of going on now is we gotta, you know, prime that pump, get more and more going through it. But as we learn exactly which community is most, you know, seriously affected, then obviously we're gonna prioritize. Um, but uh so I would say, Danny, that the thing is that you wake up, you gotta figure something out. You go to you go to the the city hall or you go to the church. And so um we are very much coordinated with the government. In fact, uh Nakli Hero is uh the chairman of the emergency response committee for the not for the non-government sector. Uh and uh so he's he's at a seat at the table with all of the planning that the government's doing, so he he can make sure that the NGOs are you know properly uh organized. So that's you know the starting point is is the sort of things that we've been packing for and that we're shipping down. So the you need a hygiene kit. You gotta have somewhere to clean up. Uh you need a you need a cleaning kit to clean up whatever you got left of of where you're living. Uh and we've seen some video coverage today where you know you see the waterline, the debris of the waterline sort of at the six feet level in Montego Bay. So I I mean and it's it's gonna be unimaginable just how many homes uh that you know are just you know, even if there are walls, you've got to start with the cleanup process.
SPEAKER_01:So that's where it starts, and then everything else we do leads on from the Well, for those of you that want to help and begin the process of helping Jamaicans, helping families, helping Food for the Poor resource those pastors and the ministry partners on the ground, you can help right now by going to foodforthepoor.org slash Melissa25. That's foodfor the poor.org slash Melissa25. There'll be a link. You can there'll be a a page where you can give and make your best gift, whether it's disaster relief items, whether it's food, whether it's tarps, everything that families need to build back. Now, we talked about Knuckle and his work down there, and I've had conversations with him. He is really dialed in with regards to things in this nature. But it didn't start, you know, the hurricane struck on the 28th of October, Ed. But this didn't start on the 27th. We were preparing from Knuckle and this team were preparing for May.
SPEAKER_02:Well, our whole organization, you know, prepares for the hurricane season. And so in I think it's four countries where we know that they're most vulnerable and where we do our most work, we pre-stage these kits. So they sit there waiting for such an event. So even though we're looking for things right now, and today we just sent out we're sending out three container loads to just today, uh, we're able to start on the ground immediately. So the the team down there, thank God our facility, you know, was intact, no no damage. So we're able to operate. So right from the beginning, we were able to get the kits that are already sitting there, and now everything else is replenishment, keeping that steady pipeline because the need's gonna be so great.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, we're talking about uh container loads of items, hygiene kits. We're talking about oral hydration. We're talking about women's care kits. Uh even something as f as as simple as baby diapers.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. It's everything you need, just basic hygiene, right? I mean, you you gotta you just gotta literally scrape the mud off and start again. And and you start with yourself and your children, and uh then you then you pick up your head and you say, Okay, I need to eat, I need to drink. And it is it I mean, this is obviously not for the entire country, but the country has at least five hundred thousand people in the swath of land that we're talking about. We don't know the disposition of how many were affected. We are now starting to hear some of the deaths uh in Jamaica. But uh, you know, over the next few days I I fear that we're gonna hear some really sort of grim statistics in terms of deaths, of injuries, uh, of um, you know, the number of houses affected, the buildings. I mean, there are major supermarkets, for example, in Montego Bay that were destroyed. So the food, the retail food outlets in Montego Bay significantly impacted right now. So even if you got through okay, where are you gonna buy the food? Where is it coming from? So, you know, this is the thing we've got to keep in mind. It's not just the people whose houses have been destroyed, and you can clearly see their need. Everybody's gonna have a different level of need as the island sort of picks up, picks up the pieces here.
SPEAKER_00:So again, this takes us down memory lane uh with Hurricane Andrew. Yes, we we we count our blessings first when we see the next daylight, but then the next move is our everything else is either out of power, uh, roofs are probably caved in. There is a no near store that now can help you, or the lines are gonna be tremendous. So I think now with with with what's going on in Jamaica, the the the we now know that the island is still without power. Major, major uh uh parts of the island.
SPEAKER_02:75% plus.
SPEAKER_00:That's a lot. And uh roads are washed out, like we mentioned. So uh we got to start thinking about who's getting left behind. And I think that's where Food for the Poor steps in. When we talk about the small towns, uh the elderly, single moms, they don't know where their next move is coming from. And and these are the people that the cameras, when once they move on, they don't see anymore. And that's why I think Food for the Poor is is there before, during, and after. And once again, if you want to be part of the initiative, part of of this action of what we're trying to get here, uh foodfor the poor.org slash Melissa25. Foodforthepoor.org slash Melissa twenty-five.
SPEAKER_01:Uh really quick, Ed, because we we talked about all of these things that are actually being shipped down, but we actually have clearly identified partners that are already on the ground right now. We're talking about food and cooking supplies, uh, food support and cooking supplies, clean water items, medical supplies, uh, air transportation and logistics and distribution. I mean, how vital is these partners in addition to what has come through the community or come through donations?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, well, any one organization who thinks that they can do it alone uh really uh is out of order. Uh the only way this can work is through a unified and coordinated approach. So, you know, I think all uh disaster response organizations are are very much tuned into the worst thing that we can do, both for ourselves and to each other, is to not work together, right? Because then that looks like duplication and waste. So um so for example, I've already had meetings with uh the World Food Program and UNICEF on the ground. They were actually in our office in Spanish Town yesterday for a coordination meeting. As soon as I land tomorrow, I'm going to Jamaica tomorrow. Uh as soon as I land, uh, we're gonna pick up that and probably head to the uh one of the ministers' offices to get fully briefed on exactly what the country is doing. So that just starts it. But then there are just so many countless partners. Today we had one of our major shipping uh partners here. They do 90% of the terminal space in the from the in the port in Jamaica is represented by them. They're a longtime partner, I mean decades working with us. They're here talking about how we coordinate. Um the uh the number of organizations that have stepped up, uh either offering F-rate or assistance with getting uh people down there. Um, all of this is, I mean, it's been an overwhelmingly positive response in terms of the the uh uh uh requests to help. And so we've really got a we've got a little command center here, uh emergency operations center that uh and as does our facility in Jamaica. So we've got we're connected at open line communication the whole time, so that uh it's if we're sitting next to each other really coordinating so that uh the left and the right hand really know what's what's going on.
SPEAKER_00:I'm feeling for those families of right now, I mean, uh think about tourism. Uh the Jamaica is very heavily dependent on tourism.
SPEAKER_02:I just I got it, I just got a briefing before. We we know that some of the hotels uh sustain damage, but not the entire hotel, right? So there's usually a sp a space that is safe. But there are 25,000 tourists that were on the island and went through this terrible experience. And a lot of them are on that north coast, of course, around the Matiga Bay and and all the way through to St. Anne's uh and Otarias. But I think anything left of Ocharias is is and west of Otarias has probably got some some significant damage. So they're gonna they're gonna want need to get back on their feet as fast as possible. And that's important because we need the tourists back into Jamaica. That's a vital part of the you know of the revenue into into Jamaica. And remember, it's it's it's not just someone paying money to stay something, it's employing all those thousands and thousands of Jamaicans who rely on that job for their money, their paycheck, to go and buy the food that we're now trying to make sure they got available for them. So uh it is it is really important. And I think the human element, now we've talked about our staff here and how how you know the dread that we had as we watched this storm went by. But you know, uh I just an example. We've had so many people visiting our office in the last few days. One of them from the Coconut Creek Police Department came in and said, you know, I'm a Jamaican. And uh and and uh and I'm really and I'm really concerned about my uh hometown. I said, All right, where was it? And uh she said, Cambridge. And I said, you know, I actually have visited projects there. I know Cambridge. Um it was a school that we built, and I was there a few years ago seeing it uh for about 90 kids. And and so it's not like I even have to uh to imagine what we're talking about. She happened to name a small town. I it's it's it's uh you know it's quite challenged in terms of its economy. It's uh it's it's you know, it struggles on a normal basis. But she just told me that the then the Central Square was devastated. Uh and and and therefore, by implication, she assumes that the entire home that she grew up in, that in the hometown that she grew up, uh is probably seriously, seriously impacted. And the and of course the recovery time and all this is just so long. So, you know, no flip of a switch. This is months and years to rebuild. Uh so you know, you get the emotion immediately. I mean, she was, you know, it was it was but it's so important for us to know this. There's a person behind every one of these homes, towns, the relationships that we have in South Florida with the Jamaican community. I mean, the huge portion of the Jamaican diaspora is in South Florida. It's personal. Everybody's got a story. That's the point.
SPEAKER_01:So I'm having a conversation yesterday with Mark Corey, part of our team here, and it was almost like very emotional for him because he was telling me about a man named Roy. Roy is a man that when Mark was a little boy, grew up with his father, worked for his family, just got his home re-roofed through the help of food for the poor. Now Roy's home is gone. And back to what you say about this being personal. So you've done I can't I probably every major network, you've done an interview on every major network. You said you didn't do the one in Spanish on Telemundo, but I'm I'm sure No, I can assure you I didn't. Okay. Okay, okay. Um I wish. And and you have been in this command center left after we left. I mean, we walked out the door late yesterday, and and you're now headed to Jamaica.
SPEAKER_02:We started last Friday. Uh we worked all over the weekend. We've been in this command center for you know now four days straight. Uh obviously the team in Jamaica is doing exactly the same. So, and there's a lot of people working extremely hard because this takes a lot of time, a lot of coordination. But you know what's really impressive? Uh, we said it earlier, you know, that those that are impacted, you know, the the impact that we talk about is about people and and what, you know, their lives. We need to say that rather than about their houses. It's their lives that are impacted. And so the joy for us at Food for the Poor is to serve people and build their lives. And so that spirit is all through the Food for the Poor staff. You know, it's like we're all here, we know what we're doing, and and united in God's work, obviously. Uh, our faith drives us, but it's truly about serving others. And uh so, you know, people do whatever they gotta do. And I I have no idea how long I'll be in Jamaica and others. Mark's leaving this afternoon, you know, so he'll be there. Several of us are gonna be there to just to sort of really help the team down there with the large-scale coordination. I think that's the piece that everyone should keep in mind. It's going to be a massive network of you talked about the all the partners. Well, we've all got to get, you know, straight with one another about who's doing what and how and when. It's a little daunting because we know how much work and how many people are gonna be served, and the worse that the the actual facts are once we get the full uh damage assessment, only then will we really know what our work is gonna truly look like.
SPEAKER_00:When when survival's survival is not just about food and water, but actually about hope. How do we how do we keep people caring after these headlines have faded? Um the the media moves too fast, for my opinion. Um because that that's that's the attention span. It's just it has to move fast. As natural as human. But how do we tell these stories so people don't forget what Jamaica's living through, right?
SPEAKER_02:I think it's a great point, Danny. I think, you know, one of the things I've I've been trying to stress, even in the interviews I've given, is that Food for the Poor has been in Jamaica for 42 years, about 40 years in Haiti. So we can't forget Haiti. They've also, you know, part of that has gone through this. Um, and we're serving them, of course. But because we're we've been there for that length of time, we have full credibility in when we say, well, we're not just there for the short-term relief efforts, that we are there for the the mid and the long term. So as even today, we're starting to talk about that mid and long term. What is it that we need to do? So clearly, you know, being able to get large quantities of zinc for the roof repairs, and and we know we're going to have, you know, walls and construction. So how does that all look got to deal with that? But you know, one of the things that Foo Fo was being very intentional about in the last you know five or six years is about this building lives for sort of sustainable um, you know, development. And so that very much looks at at the types of jobs that people can get, that they're skilled and trained for, and that uh, you know, that we're truly helping them get into uh the commercial networks, so uh marketplaces. So if you're a a poor, uh you know, a poor farmer, for example, you're probably gonna grow as many as much crops as you can to eat. It's subsistence. We want you to thrive. So let's get you connected to markets. Um if you're a fisherman, same thing. You don't just fill up the boat with enough fish to eat for the next 24 hours. You actually, if we can really f figure out how best to help you um, you know, fillet and package and freeze and distribute, well, that's a whole different thing. And that's what Foof was really um intentional about. I mean it's it's really hard work, but uh um no one said that to me this was gonna be easy.
SPEAKER_01:Well, as we get ready to wrap up, um this the podcast is called Beyond the Plate, not on the plate. So we're gonna go a little bit beyond for a second. I've been getting text messages a pastor that's a very close to me in Montego Bay, my cousin David, his sister Lorraine, and their family in Ocheríos. Everybody's okay, thank God. How's your family?
SPEAKER_02:Good. Well, I have a uh my wife's brother and sister live down there, and nephews and nieces, and everyone seems to be okay, thank God. Because they live in Kingston, and Kingston was largely spared, so it might have been a different story. Um but uh you know I just go back to lots of our staff members haven't heard from their families yet. So they don't know the answer to that question. Can you imagine?
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:Um so we truly pray for them uh and uh and for the entire country of Jamaica, because this is gonna be a this is gonna be a difficult uphill, you know, climb. Uh and uh I think everyone should just know that Food for the Poor has been there for 40 years. We intend to be there, let's hope, for at least another 40 years and and do something very, very meaningful in a very organized and you know, really exhibiting the sort of good Christian stewardship that you know everyone would be sort of satisfied to see us do, right? This is about doing the right things right.
SPEAKER_01:Well, doing the right things right starts with you helping us right now. Go to foodforthepoor.org slash melissa twenty-five. That's foodfor the poor.org slash Melissa twenty-five. When we were here last year talking with Sadilla Marley during Hurricane Barrel, and I said, your father's song, Smile Jamaica, is what resonates in my heart. I believe that everything that we're doing brings us back to that point that we will see Jamaica smile again.
SPEAKER_02:Well, one thing I know, Jamaica is a resilient country. The people are resilient, and uh let's just keep in mind we all love Jamaicans, and uh so uh they they will find a way to thrive, but they're gonna need a lot of help uh in that process of of getting back on their feet in a in a in a way that uh you know they can feel like there's a bit more normalcy, but it's gonna be tough for the next few months.
SPEAKER_01:We ask you to please go to foodforthepoor.org slash Melissa25. That's foodfor the poor dot or g slash melissa twenty-five. God bless you. Thank you, Ed. Thank you, guys. Thanks for listening.
SPEAKER_00:We hope you've felt the connection. One plate, one story, one act of love can change everything. Discover more stories and join our community at foodforthepoor.org slash podcasts and follow us too at beyond the plate.podcast. Together we can make a difference. This is Beyond the Plate.
