Feed the Hungry, Inc.’s (FtH) signature program, “GG” as it is fondly called at FtH, has evolved through our over twenty years of implementations to one that keeps us in touch with folks all over the Philippines-and yes, to the many places that have us travelling by car, jeepneys, buses, trucks, pump boats, tricycles and using our super feet for walking a few miles!!! But, the journey-though at times hard and rough-is always overshadowed by the instant smiles we see on faces of folks who meet us; the cheers we receive because we did take the time to visit them; and that the affirmation that we, FtH, are but the hands of thousands of their kababayans in the United States who have never forgotten to help and reach out to them … is priceless and more so, gives us the strong energy to keep coming back!

The year 2015 took us to reach out to over 1,500 families-families that have been vetted as the very needy to receive the GG Bags-as always, tickets are carefully issued to these families and given information of date, time and place of implementation. FtH is assisted with the vetting process by lead folks who have requested assistance and the local Social Welfare.

• Through the month of February 2015, we reached Tahanang Paghubog for their year’s supply of rice, regularly donated by an FtH donor;
• In Quezon City, with the assistance of Mowelfund that also provided snacks for beneficiaries;
• In Novaliches, with partnership of the Sacred Heart Academy of Novaliches that had their high school students visit the deserving families and vet them;
• In Las Pinas, in continued partnership of Our Lady of the Pillar Parish (reaching out to 7 depressed barangays) identifying never-before-reached families;
• In Lian, Batangas, where restricted donations supplemented earlier GG to address students’ needs;
• In Montalban, where, together with CARE restricted funds, we assisted over 500 families;
• In Malibay, Pasay City, where FtH was able to immediately assist 100 families whose homes were destroyed by fire – this assistance came three days after the fires were put out.

GG was also part of the special CARE program implemented in Tapaz, Capiz.

Of special note is a project FtH has implemented for 6 years, the assistance to the Home for Sexually Molested Girls – Laura Vicuna now temporarily housed in Mabalacat, Pampanga. We provide these very special girls their personal needs and assistance for their school needs as well as food! Every year, we try to give something very speclal. This year (at one of the Sister’s request), we gave a couple of bicycles … and the joy of the girls when seeing these – priceless!

The Gift-giving Program is the signature program of Feed the Hungry, Inc. that launched its charitable endeavors. Gift-giving projects are undertaken to address immediate needs such as shortages in food and sanitation supplies, especially in poor communities. Gift-giving activities are short-term stop-gap measures meant to bridge efforts to lead communities to self-sufficiency while recovering from calamities or confronted with long-term problems due to poverty.

Gift-giving activities are mostly undertaken by FtH volunteers in coordination with various non-governmental organizations, local government units, Social Welfare and Development Offices and other private individuals in various sectors in the Philippines. The Gift-giving Program, with its team of volunteers from the Washington, D.C. area, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Kona, Hawaii joined by local volunteers, has distributed about PhP11.7 million worth of gift bags (containing food items, school supplies, toiletries, toys, and medicines, among others) to indigent orphans, street children, the sick, handicapped and elderly, and disadvantaged communities in the Philippines since 1993.

From January 1, 2011 to October 15, 2011, the gift-giving activities accounted for PhP776,078.40 of the total FtH donations. Benefiting from these gift-giving activities were families, students, and indigent children in the following places: