Feeding Kids
HUNGER
We feed thousands of hungry children, teachers and cooks each day in Christian schools spread throughout Haiti.
This is the only meal nearly 50% of those we serve will eat in a 24-hour period.
NUTRITION
Children receive a nutritious bowl of rice (or corn) and beans, with a high-protein mix of tomato paste, dried herring, oil, seasoning and water. The special mix was developed by a Vanderbilt University nutritionist.
Approximately 62% of Haitians suffer from malnutrition.
FAITH
Every school we work with is a Christian school, actively teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ on a regular basis. Many schools are tied to the local Christian church.
Approximately 60% of the Haitian population practices Voodoo. 95% of the children we feed come to believe in Jesus Christ.
EDUCATION
“An empty stomach has no ears” is a well-known phrase in Haiti. Trinity HOPE understands that when children are SO hungry they can’t concentrate, their education suffers. Haiti’s future depends on the education of the upcoming generation.
48% of Haitians over the age of 15 are illiterate.
How It Works
Here are the steps it takes for our team to start working with a new school in Haiti.
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Staff and volunteers travel throughout the U.S. coordinating fundraising events, sharing presentations, and meeting with potential donors. We know every dollar raised allows us to feed four hungry children.
Every month we wire transfer the money needed for the upcoming month from our U.S. bank to Haitian bank accounts we maintain in each region we operate. We receive monthly bank statements from every Haitian bank account we have to confirm every penny is accounted for.
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We buy ALL our food from local Haitian vendors in each region we operate. By investing over $4,000,000 in the Haitian economy each year, we are helping create jobs and changing the lives of more than just the children we feed.
We require certified receipts from each vendor for every purchase we make, ensuring the amounts match the bank statements.
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At the beginning of each month, every school is required to come to the food vendor and pick up their food for the month. They meet our Feeding Program Director and double-count quantities received to ensure nothing is missing.
The cost of transporting the food back to the school is the responsibility of each school. This is part of our Shared Support program.
We require that the food is always stored in a secure storage area on the school property, with limited access to the lock and keys.
Each day the school principal or director removes the appropriate quantities of food from the storage and gives it to the cooks to prep.
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Each morning the cooks arrive at the schools as early as 5:30 am to build a fire and start to cook. Most schools cook over wood or charcoal, while some more fortunate schools cook using gas. The menu is rice & beans three days a week and corn & beans two days a week. A cook is paid monthly, and most are paid by the school as part of the Shared Support program. Many cooks are mothers of school children.
Since our inception in 1999 Trinity HOPE has served over 86,000,000 meals to the hungry children, teachers and cooks in Haiti. For approximately 50% of the children we serve, this food is the only meal they receive all day. Teachers, principals and parents often tell us the meal we provide is the single biggest motivator for the kids to stay in school.
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Each school is required to keep accurate reports of attendance and number of meals served daily. Our Feeding Program Directors keep Monthly Purchase & Expense Reports, and Food Inventory Reports for each school. These are sent, along with bank statements, and receipts, to our US team monthly.
The feeding programs are all managed by our team of 37 Haitian Feeding Program Directors and 1 Haitian Director. We do not have any Americans on the ground in Haiti. We believe we must empower and train Haitians to work towards self-sufficiency. Two times each month every school we serve is visited by a Feeding Program Director. Each visit they audit the programs, ensuring the school is following all required guidelines.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”