Food For The Poor

I have been giving to the FFP for years, now that my income has changed I cannot give anymore. I have been trying to contact their office for more than a month without success. I have called numerous times, left multiple messages, emails, letters but have yet to receive any response. And they are still charging my credit card. This lack of communication has been quite frustrating and upsetting.

Regrettably, due to these ongoing communication challenges, I have lost confidence in this organization and will be redirecting my donations to another charity that provides better service to its donors and beneficiaries (and doesn't waste so much money on marketing and high compensation of officers!).

I agree to this so much I love this they scammed me out of 100000000000000000000 dollars please I need a refund. They are my opps.

Like dozens of other people reviewing this FFTP,m I donated because I wanted to help the poor but I am receiving numerous amounts of paper mail, magnets, cards and other unwanted junk mail but I’m afraid that the amount of marketing supplies well eventually surpassed my donation amount!! I have tried several times to get off of their solicitation lists and nothing has stopped the incessant paper mail and products from coming to my home. I’ve read other reviews that say they continue to be automatically charge for donations I hope this doesn’t happen to me. Although this organization looks like it does a lot of good I’m afraid that due to the marketing tactics it’s so easy to be fooled Not to mention the burden to the earth with all this unwanted waste. Kara

I am disabled Jewish man from Jerusalem-ISRAEL. State of ISRAEL don’t let disabled people like me the ability to buy very basic subsistence needs
as food, medication and so on.
I am searching for a solution in it.
assaf benyamini.

*1)my email addresses: 029547403@walla.co.il or: asb783a@gmail.com or: assaf197254@yahoo.co.il or: ass.benyamini@yandex.com or: a32assaf@outlook.com or: assaf002@mail2world.com or: assaffff@protonmail.com
2)my phone numbers: at home-9722-6427757.
cellular-972-58-6784040. fax-972-77-2700076.
3)my postal address: 115/4 costa rica street, qiriat menahem neighborhood, Jerusalem, ISRAEL, zip: 9662592.
4)my first language is Hebrew(עברית).
5)Here is a link to my paypal.me: paypal.me/assaf148
6)Here is a link to website with more material about me in various languages:
https://tknym-shl-sp-bnymyny.ghost.io/ghost/#/posts?order=updated_at%20desc

I've been contributing to Food For the Poor for over 20 years. I give when I can and ignore the requests when I can't. It's a shame that people are allowed to say anything they want on forums such as these without any facts to back up their statements. I have looked up the facts multiple times. Food For the Poor spends roughly 1% of their income on administrative costs and roughly 4% of their income on fundraising expenses. Approximately 94% of their income is spent on the people they are helping. Look it up, people, the facts are readily available. If you choose not to give, that's fine; but please don't give a bad reputation to an organization that is doing such great work.

I donated to this charity a couple times, then shortly after they had access to my information I was bombarded with letters, emails. ect. every single day/week asking for more money. They spend more money on trying to get money from me than the actual money I gave them and I gave them generously. They won't leave me alone. I am sorry I ever donated to this so called "charity Organization", after finding out the money mainly goes to large payrolls and advertising. Shame on you wolves in sheep clothing using peoples hard earned money for your luxury life styles.

I regret ever donating to this organization. Since I made my first donation in 2018,they charge my account on monthly basis. I even went to the extent of charging my credit card and somehow they still found their way around my new card and till now they still charge money outta my card which makes it obvious that something about them is illegit. It's free will donation not by force. You dont have to scam your way into people's account and take their money without their consent just because they once gave you their account details. That is plain theft and its illegal and unacceptable.

We love to make donations to charities and continue to do so but Food for the Poor keeps charging our credit card even when we explicitly told them to stop doing so. We even changed creditcards but still they manage to get our new information via the same credit card company. The credit card company is apparently not that helpful either. This has been going on for almost 2 years. Advice: NEVER give them your credit card!!! These are not Catholic or Christians, these are CROOKS. There are enough other charities to make donations to, avoid this one.

A friend of a friend works for this organization so I thought I'd donate. I have since been harassed with phone calls and mail, even a paper back with 6 cents taped to it. I've called and left messages asking them to stop wasting money, I'll donate again when I can. I hate to bash a charity, especially because the husband of an acquaintance works for them but.....I write this as an infomercial of theirs is on television. Disgraceful.

I have been trying to get off "Food for the Poor" mailing list for over 4 months. Repeated letters do no good. I send their solicitations back, ask to be removed, and ask who sold them by name. No response! I'd never give them a penny!

Highly suspicious of a company that mass mails a genuine nickel and a penny to try to get donations...surely their money would be better used to purchase food? Somebody should investigate this place....

I believe and trust this charity. I've donated to them for many years but off and on. They made an appeal at our parish last year and I figured "Why not give them another shot?" I couldn't remember why I stopped donating to them years ago. Not to worry, I was reminded very quickly: I stopped because of the incessant mailings. I get a mailing from FFTP every 3-4 days, as if that's going to make me donate more money or more frequently.

I believe they do good work and are legitimate. If you donate be prepared to be inundated with mailings.

I prefer to donate, not be hounded.

God bless the people at Food For the Poor. I have seen and experienced their generosity. For many years they have provided food to feed the poor and needy in a poor community where I lived in Jamaica. They also provided food, school supplies, toys, building materials and monetary contributions to help many schools provide a good education for needy families. Many of the schools including, the one I where I served as principal, depended on Food for the Poor to maintain their school feeding program. Therefore, I will always give and I encourage you to give to make a difference in the lives of the poor children around the world.

If you look up this charity's rating, it's very good. Approximately 96 cents out of every dollar goes towards program expenses (i.e. feeding & housing the poor). It doesn't get any better than that. For those of you squawking about a 6 cents in the mail, it's called fundraising. They are using it to get attention and ultimately bring in more money than they spent which in turn allows them to serve more needy people. Their financials are public. They deliver the services they claim at an administrative cost well below what I or anybody else could do on our own.

Absolutely the best!
Felicia was my financial coaching she was responsive.
she help me with my credit card debt and also help me with my personal financial I learned how to manage my monthly budge.
I will 5 star I love the service.
Suzy Goncalves

They sent me 6 cents in the mail, saying "you can provide a meal for a starving child for only 6 cents". My question is why didn't they use those 6 cents to do just that? I'm not so sure if this charity is really legit.

My role would actually be protector of my father. He is 90 years old and senile, these people will not leave him alone. I feel they are taking advantage of him, and I have asked them to stop. But here is the problem. They won't.

I have been giving to this organization for over 10 years. One of the main reasons is because over 90% of donations go towards feeding the poor and not into someone else's pocket. I highly recommend this charity.

Some of the reviewers here are confusing this organization with other organizations. They help indigent people in Latin America with direct food aid, livestock, small business support, water sources, solar supplies, and housing. They deliver these things to local charities whic are already working with the populations served. And 96% of donated funds go directly into aid. Please don't write negative reviews without getting your facts straight!

I have donated to these people on several occasions. There mail-outs tear at your heart. I once called their offices in Florida to talk about some staff positions they had open. I am semi-retired and well-qualified to do the work they needed done, for practically no pay. I was treated with indifference.

The rudeness of their staff, and the obscene salary of the CEO will keep me from giving these people any more of my money.

This charity uses mailings to the elderly that are aimed to make them feel guilty. They duped my mother-in-law out of a great deal of her savings with the bleeding heart mailers. The management staff is overpaid and under performing for their salaries..,

People always complain about something. Just another excuse to not help. The other person was right quit complaining about the company and help feed the kids. Another good place is Lesea they send food allover the world. Also the person that can't capitalize the Lord's name straighten out your relationship with God first ;-)

Overall, I think this charity does good things. I'm also concerned about the numerous mailings I get from FFTP asking for more money ( some appear to be very expensive "glossy" materials ) and the salary of the CEO is also a concern ( I'm hoping he tithes at least :) ). I must say that one thing I do appreciate is that they are praying for me - I have received periodic phone calls fro FFTP employees asking to just pray with me ( no solicitations ). I have also on occaision received letters of encouragement and prayer from them as well ( again with no solicitations ).

I am a certified fundraising professional and have great admiration for the staff and the work that Food For The Poor has accomplished the past 30 years, and continues to accomplish in the countries it serves! I have seen first hand their wonderful charitable work in Jamaica, Haiti and Honduras. FFP not only provides food and much needed supplies, but more importantly the staff strives to help those living in the countries become self-sufficient by teaching skills that will boost the families' incomes. They have certainly done an admirable job in helping rebuild Haiti after the terrible earthquake.This is truly a charity with a heart combined with good business and management skills of its leaders. Keep up the great mission!

I have been donating to this charity for many years. The primary reason is the super high % percent of its total budget it spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. It is over 96%. Exceptional. I know some take exception to the salary the CEO receives but considering how efficient he runs this charity I's say he is well worth it. They help the poorest of the poor and do it very efficiently. What more can I ask?
Thank you Food for the Poor for the excellent work you do.

i am sorry to say that i donated to this charity. after googling the salary of its ceo and discovered it was over 350k per year i sent them a note to stop all communications with me but they have continued sending their sollicitations. if you are for these types of salaries get a job from wall street do not get donations and pay yourself like a wall street bankster. folks we must give as this is the prescription of the lord just make sure the paycheck of the ceo is not over 150k per year and the donations are not embezzled. i hope we will continue giving but not these charities with outrageous salaries. i suggest donating directly to orphanges in poor countries directly and do the things that the lord puts in your heart as the holy spirit leads.

I used to give money to this charity but after reading about how much the Board makes will cease and support our local food bank. Thanks to those who did the research to uncover the massive fraud in the Mahood family. Someone should take this crook to court.

3 years ago, I wrote to Food for the Poor asking them to only send me one annual request and I would continue to support them with one generous donation. It worked and I may get 3 letters but not the 18 that I had before.

Other people are correct in mentioning that they are relentless with their marketing. And honestly, I don't like it either. Nevertheless, when you experience what they see and realize how such a small amount such a profound difference, I think you can better appreciate why they do what they do. I lived in a developing country for a couple years, and most good people in developed countries have little appreciation of these things. A weekly mailing or two is not much of an inconvenience, relative to no food or clean water on an average day. Yes, your mailings are over-the-top Food for the Poor, but at the same time I must say: Keep up the great work!!

I will no longer donate to this charity. The Mahood family lives very well from their earnings generated by FFP. I will not support a charity that pays the CEO $388,000+. Their direct mailings are very well done and slick! I am guessing the fundraising costs are much higher than stated because this kind of advertising is VERY expensive to produce, print and mail.

I was giving to the FFP for years, now that my income has changed I cannot give anymore. I have told them over and over that I have no money to give but for the past few years they have continued to pester me for cash. I really thought this charity was on the level but I have a feeling it is not.

Please do not donate to this organization. Once you donate they will never ever stop harassing your for additional donations. I donated $100 to them over two years ago and even wrote them several times and asked them to stop mailing me requests for donations. There are far better organizations who will respect the donors.

Please do not donate to this charity. I made the mistake of giving a medium sized donation one time and I have been continually hounded by their massive marketing machine. I have written them twice and requested to be removed from their lists. I have told the paid telemarketers who call, that I will never again donate to this organization. And today, still I receive another request for more funds. If you donate to this organization, please understand the only thing that your are improving is the depths of our landfills.

I was very sorry we donated to this charity a few years ago because after we did we received a ridiculous amount of glossy mailings urging us to donate more. I finally had enough and called asking for our names to be taken off their mailing list. The woman I spoke to actually asked if I had prayed over my decision which felt like she was implying I wasn't a good person. Then I read about the CEO's compensation - way more than I'll ever make!

Who Cares SUFFER! To all you that condemn FFP for paying the CEO too much, You'd rather the children and others to suffer hunger and die? I don't like that the CEO makes so much, but that has nothing to do with it's programs and help. I'm sure you've looked around and found FFP is the most efficient charity in America and maybe even the world. Apparently the CEO is doing a great job or they wouldn't be rated so good. If they didn't have this CEO would they still be rated so high? Who knows, but of all the charities this one is the best, I've searched. If the CEO is the problem and reason your not giving, just go to their office and volunteer to work with/for them and it won't be long until you'll be the CEO, since you'll be so good and efficient and so much better than the present CEO, they will make you the CEO and you can fix all this and take a lower salary, better yet don't take a salary! In the mean time people suffer hunger and die. That is a poor excuse not to give. Like me, you'll answer to this one day. Quit condemning and do what you can to help, or at least stay quite and quit discouraging others. If you can find a better charity, I'll donate with you. Pray about it, honestly, and do what the Lord leads you to do. I've been sarcastic, please forgive me, I am sorry, It just upsets me. Thanks, I pray the Lord blesses you.

I am an anthropology professor at an American university. For the past 13 years I have been assisting with development projects in a Jamaican community. Eight years ago we established a fisherman's cooperative. Food for the Poor immediately came to our assistance, providing us with a headquarters building, a cold storage facility, and four ocean-going boats, as well as building 100 homes for extremely poor families. In addition, they stationed a fisheries expert in the village, who built artificial reefs to attract fish. With their assistance we have become the foremost fisher's group on the island and a leading environmental organization as well. We recently secured land from government for a new preschool, and FFTP will be building a 2400 square foot concrete classroom to replace three board shacks that serve over 60 children. The only stipulation they have made is that a small portion of each catch from the donated boats be set aside for community development projects. I was skeptical of them at first, worried about their religious foundation, but there has been no proselytizing whatsoever. FFTP has been an excellent partner; I can't find fault with their operations on the ground.

Like the reviewer who wrote in January, 2011, I questioned why I first heard of Food for the Poor at an appeal in a Catholic church. The online answer is that they are slick promoters. They advertise in the National Catholic Reporter and recruit priests to speak in local parishes. CharityWatch does not list Food for the Poor with their top charities, but it awards Catholic Relief Services, also working in international relief, an A+. CharityWatch does not included donated goods in its efficiency ratings. Thus, it gives Food for the Poor a lower ranking than other charity rating services.

I receive constant appeals from Food for the Poor for donations through the mail and via the Internet. I used my matching gifts program at work for my last contribution to Food for the Poor. I was about to make another donation only to learn that the compensation of the President and CEO of the organization was $388,979 for a year. I prefer to make my charitable donations to organizations that do not award such a high level of compensation to its leader, and one which focuses more on the needs of the poor.

I have had nothing but great experiences with this charity. They demonstrate Christian values. I have been called and helped by them praying for me several times at just the right time when I needed it the most and the prayers were so awesome they had to be guided by the hand of God. How many charities do you know that are used by God in that manner? They have called to thank me and pray with me with all sincerity and I have been very blessed by their caring for me. I believe in this charity. As far as the salary of the CEO goes, I cannot judge. How do you know what this person does with his money? People who run billion dollar organizations with skill, talent and excellence deserve a fair salary. In this day and age, for that level it is not out of line. You people need to get real. You get what you pay for. Perhaps these people who are complaining about the CEO salary would like a more incompetent manager who deserves less and runs the organization into the ground.

I will not donate to a charity that pays $388,000 to a CEO. To me, that is more than anyone needs to earn especially when the money comes from donations. That salary is pure greed.

It makes me sick to know how many people would be with the CEOs salary. I will not donate to a charity that has a paid CEO. It totally devalues the word charity! Very sad!!

be careful of charity scams like "food for the poor"where the president of this so called charity makes a 400,000 a year salary.you know it`s a scam when they`re claiming to give these poor countries animals to raise for food.these poor countries don`t have 2500 gallons of water for 1 pound of meat or16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat.they would`nt be starving if they had that much grain and water to waste.

I cannot in good conscience donate to Food for the Poor knowing that the President draws a $400,000/yr salary from our donations. What a shameful contradiction knowing their mission is "to serve poorest of the poor". And if that isn't enough, that salary buys the wisdom behind the excessive (junk) mail campaign

WHY DO THEY SEND OUT SO MANY SOLICITATIONS. I DONATED DEC. 2012. SINCE THEN I HAVE RECEIVED 7 MAIL SOLICITATIONS. I DONATED AGAIN IN APRIL AND HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED ANOTHER MAIL SOLICITATION. WOULD'NT BE BETTER TO USE THE MONEY TO HELP THE POOR INSTEAD OF MAILING ALL THESE SOLICITATIONS?

Food for the Poor is the quintessential ideal of what a charity should be. Of course they prevent people from literally starving to death. But they do so much more than that. They help others maintain their livelihood by working to build fish farms, water pumps, chicken pens, etc. They are not out to make people dependent upon charitable giving, they are out to help people make something of themselves by providing them with the tools, education, and resources to do so. This gives their beneficiaries the ability to provide for themselves in the long run. I love their marketing efforts as well. I love the fact that I know exactly what it is I am "buying" for someone with my donation. I also appreciate the fact that I can tell them how much or how little marketing from them I want to receive. Bottom line, Food for the Poor is an excellent example of a truly exceptional charity. Good work!

While it's annoying that numerous dollars are spent on glossy donation pleas, I understand marketing is necessary. However, I did some research after reading comments on this site re: CEO salary and was astonished at what I found. Robin Mahfood, CEO, like many other charity CEO's, does make an enormous salary. They are, after all, the 2nd largest charity org in the US after American Red Cross. But ethics should be present in all business dealings, especially charitable work. Not so sure here. Mahfood's immediate family received incredible salaries and perks from this organization. His family business, Essex Exports, which he ran for years, had undergone a federal investigation for fraud and sex scandal. His brother's business received tons of money thru business deals with this org. Consider that the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami has severed ties with this org. Be a smart donor - Do research before you contribute ANYWHERE!

I have donated for several years now and I had to write because I am very distressed at some of the other reviews and the fact that their star rating was figured in the average. If you don't believe in helping people in other countries, that's your decision, but don't knock Food for the Poor for what they do. I wonder if some of these people have ever received a mailing from FFTP. In America, nowhere is there poverty like in the places FFTP serves. In Haiti, Guatemala and the other countries they help, there are no food banks, WIC or government programs. Children starve to death before their parents eyes and they are helpless. If you choose to ignore that, that's your privilege. The only reason I held off on 5 stars was that I don't see why a CEO of a charitable organization should make such a large salary. Could anyone address this? I have seen it many places and I just don't think it's right.

I have been donating to Food for the Poor for many years now. As many others have noted, fund raising contacts are very frequent, often to the point of annoyance, but the cause is just and important and I tend to overlook it. They are not unique in this regard. Despite Robin's larger than average salary, their administrative expenses remain among the lowest of any charity. I, too, wish it was less, but accept that he has built a high performing organization. Perhaps he'll think about it. Their focus is and apparently always has been the Carribean, Central and Latin America. Few would disagree that these are among the poorest of people, nations and regions in the world and have been so for generations. There are groups that specialize in Africa and elsewhere in the world and I believe it is impossible for one organization to have any long term impact by being too scattered and fragmented in their approach, with the possible exception of the Catholic Church who has great resources, both human and financial, and the largest donor base of any organization in the world. I find the criticism by so many of those in these comments to be unfounded, unworthy and in many respects petty. Look again at the total revenues of the organization and the utilization of those revenues for the mission. it's extraordinary compared to so many other higher profile groups. Food for the Poor, along with Catholic Relief Services, also does one of the best jobs of searching out matching funds and grants. I think I first became a donor more than 10 or 12 years ago, and they, along with CRS, are my two primary humanitarian charities. I've donated money, but I've also found particular satisfaction in donating animals, equipment and infrastructure so families and communities can help themselves on a more sustainable basis. I've often given these in the names of my grandchildren at Christmas and they've always taken great pleasure in helping in this way. Food for the Poor is an outstanding charity run by people who obviously care and live the mission. They are deserving of continued support and will certainly have mine.

My problem with this organization is fund raising waste.

They blow their horns over their fund raising efficiency of .02; but nevertheless I find them wasteful. I am a monthly donor. Yet they still send mailing after mailing after mailing asking for funds. I have only so much. Furthermore, these mailings are expensive. Full color spreads and postage are not cheap, even at the "charitable organization" rate.

Just the other day I got another mailing which contained a nickel. They asked me to send it back. This is absolutely a waste! Not only does it add 5 cents a copy to the mailing cost, it creates an administrative burden in dealing with whatever nickels are returned. Sadly, most nickels wind up in pocket change or in the trash. What a waste!

It is fund raising foolishness such as this that drives me nuts, causing me serious concern about continued donations to these people.

Please try to understand my point. The tiny amount I can give has already been spent on useless, wasteful fundraising. Tell me ___why I should continue?

My suggestions are:
Flag monthly/regular donor records - don't send more mailings --- this is wasteful --- they already give.

Don't put my donated money (nickels) in future mailings.

What about the hungry people in this country. This organization receives federal funds for their charity and it seems to be more profitable to SHIP it away than to give it away locally.

I have been a donor to Food for the Poor for several years. As the economy has changed, I have chosen to look more closely at the charities I have provided financial assistants. I will no longer give to Feed the Poor when the CEO is paid 403K. He is far from poor and I will not be any part of paying his salary. I will continue to feed the poor through local food banks and Food for the Hungry which has a better Charity Navigator rating.

I worked with food for the poor in Jamaica where i served as a Peace Corps Volunteer. In that country they did a tremendous amount of good distributing donated goods, helping those in need through re-building/building homes, and more. Since returning to the US I have continued to give to them and have been impressed by their work in the Caribbean basin. They have assisted me in distributing goods to Jamaicans since i left.

In response to the post from March 30th by Judith Pecho:

Food For The Poor serves 15,000 hot meals six days a week at the location described by the activist writing the story. The recipients are people living nearby who have no income, and no other food resources. To receive food, people complete a simple form, which includes the number of people in their family. They bring a card with them each time and they are supplied simple, nutritious meals of rice, beans and basic stews. The people living at this camp would only have to walk across the street to obtain access to this food. In addition to this food, Food For The Poor distributes dried beans, rice, and other staples through 2,600 beneficiaries in Haiti. When intervening with direct distribution, security is a very real concern. Food For The Poor provided food to this camp immediately after the earthquake, but was forced to stop when those outside the camp make it too chaotic to continue the distribution. At that time, Food For The Poor chose to continue along its established path of supplying churches and associations who are structured for direct distribution. The camp residents were invited to come to the canteen and sign up for hot meals. Food For The Poor has been working in Haiti since 1986. The charity accelerated its work immediately after the quake and continues to work to rebuild Haiti. Immediately after the quake, Food For The Poor was supplying food, water and sanitation to the tent cities. Since the earthquake we have published on our website and in newspapers reports with details of the work we have accomplished in Haiti. As a matter of fact, The Chronicle of Philanthropy published a list of the 50+ organizations that had collected the most money for Haiti after the earthquake and what they had done in Haiti by the end of last year. We were #13, having collected more than $20 million for Haiti. The paper reported that we had spent all the money collected by the end of October. We were the only organization of the top 20 that had spent all the money that we had collected. The report made it clear that besides spending all the money, no one had built more permanent housing than Food For The Poor (1589 double unit structures), no one had dug more wells (more than 120) or more water projects (30 solar powered water purification/chlorination systems that purify 10,000 gallons of water per day (each) no matter the condition of the water source.) Food For The Poor was the organization that sent the most food, medicines and supplies into the country after the earthquake in 2010 (1,459 containers valued at more than $205 million). There are no members of the Mahfood family on the Board of Directors of Food For The Poor. Food For The Poor continues to work to rebuild Haiti. We encourage everyone to look at all the facts before they add to the chaos with misinformation.

Food For The Poor

Just watched a segment on Democracy Now who had a journalist in Haiti, and they showed the Food for the Poor building, a huge multi-storied pink building across from a camp of Haiti earthquake victims living in tents. They reported this camp had under 400 people. The people are staving, hungry, and you could see that they were were thin, adults and children. They said Food for the Poor does not provide any food for them although they have asked. The journalist talked to Food for the Poor and affirmed that. Something is wrong that an organization cannot resolve whatever problems there are to see that the people in the camp directly across the street from them is provided food. Seeing the CEO's whooping salary, I wonder what their priorities are. Certainly they have outreach people that should have fixed this long ago. Charities are raking in billions, as this organization is for refugees in Haiti but the people are still living in squalid conditions lacking sufficient food, clean water, and sanitary conditions.
I called the organization in Florida to talk with an administrator about this but was only allowed to talk to a customer service person who only made excuses and refused to let me talk to someone who could explain this situation and see that it is remedied. If they cannot feed under 400 people who are starving living across the street in a very squalid camp, then why do they take donations? Shame.

This charity sends unwanted goods with used donations to third world countries. THey also have a board that is primarily members of the Mahfood family. THey also collaborate with a for profit shipping company run by the Mahfood family. I wouldn't donate to them.