The Chaos Of Food Delivery After Hurricane Maria

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

After the destruction left by Hurricane María as it passed through Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, people needed food. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) knew that it needed 30 million prepared to deliver to the population as soon as possible.

To accomplish its mission, FEMA hired Tiffany Brown, who according to The New York Times explains, had no previous experience in disasters like hurricanes. However, Brown had been part of five government contracts that had been canceled.

The New York Times reports that to achieve its mission, FEMA gave $ 156 million to Brown, who was the sole owner and employee of his company Tribute Contracting LLC. What did Brown do? The newspaper reported that she sought out an Atlanta catering company to help her prepare the food the town needed. That 11-employee company helped her pack food: mushroom rice, chicken rice, and vegetable soup.

However, The New York Times argues that at the time FEMA expected at least 18.5 million meals had already been delivered, Brown only delivered 50,000. What about food?

The newspaper detailed that even though the food was ready, FEMA ran into the problem that the instant warming bag required by them was in other packaging. That is, people would have no way to heat such food. Then, Brown received an email from an official who was performing the FEMA contractions indicating that the contract was terminated, not to send any more food. In short, it was "a logistical nightmare." The New York Times states that cases like this make it clear how FEMA awarded contracts in those first days of crisis in Puerto Rico. The House of Representatives investigates this contract. Meanwhile, there is still much to do in Puerto Rico.