FEMA Awards the Virgin Islands More than $250,000
in Emergency Food and Shelter Program Funding

Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. on Tuesday welcomed news that the Emergency Food and Shelter Program will be funded in the fiscal year 2010. Over the years, the funding has been an important source of revenue for the territory’s soup kitchens and emergency shelters. “It has also allowed non-profit organizations to quickly respond to emergency food and housing needs for families in the territory,” de Jongh said, explaining that sometimes people find themselves in a crisis without food to feed their families and need immediate help. 

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, the program is being funded at a level of $200 million from which the territory will realize $277,200. Human Services Commissioner Chris Finch noted that the funding provided under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act has, in the past, allowed the participating non-profits to provide assistance often the same day a request is made. Finch congratulated the United Way of St. Thomas St. John and the other participating non-profits for their stellar management of the program such that FEMA is again trusting them with new funding. “While the amount the territory receives certainly does not fill the whole need, it is always appreciated and always well spent.”

Finch also pointed out that there has been a notable increase in the number of persons who have sought food stamp or SNAP assistance during the economic recession and he is certain that there will be great demand for these funds.

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