More than 3,000 families across Honduras received food baskets as a result of joint efforts by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Honduras and church member volunteers.

The initiative was made possible last month thanks to funds from ADRA International, ADRA Inter-America and local church emergency funds collected to assist in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, said Luis Trundle, ADRA Honduras country director.

“A strict curfew was set late in March, forcing more than 9 million people to be on lockdown with only essential businesses like grocery stores, gas stations and medical services available,” said Trundle. That forced millions to go unemployed.

Needy families were identified with the help of district pastors and church member volunteers as well as municipal leaders who helped survey the most needy in their conferences and missions, according to Trundle.

ADRA volunteers made house deliveries and also gave out food at assigned  distribution points in several farming communities.  Twelve nursing homes also received non-perishable food items, hygiene kits as well as masks, gloves, and anti-bacterial gels. Other groups of families received food vouchers, reported Trundle.

“We wanted to make sure the elderly in nursing homes, and farming families in the most needy rural areas also received some support with the packaged non-perishable items to help through this crisis,” said Trundle. “Our numbers show us that some 15,000 of the most vulnerable individuals in Honduras were impacted during this intervention.”

Basic food baskets or rations for a family of five, included a week’s worth of rice, beans, wheat flour, corn flour, pasta, oil, tomato paste and sugar.

Trundle said that local church members made special donations to assist the needy families in their congregations in March and have continued to give what they can to assist in their communities as well.  “The government is also reaching families with food rations across the country,” said Trundle.

At the end of May, ADRA will be distributing assistance to 2,700 families in rural communities in the south of the Central American country in partnership with funds provided by United Nations World Food Program, Trundled reported.

To learn more about ADRA Honduras projects and initiatives, click HERE

This article was originally published on the Inter-America Division’s website