UOG CIS and Sea Grant team assists in post-typhoon food distribution

Following the devastating impact of typhoon Mawar on the island,  the Guam Green Growth (G3) initiative of the University of Guam demonstrated its commitment to the community by providing much-needed backup to the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) at the Guam Department of Education’s Commodity Distribution Warehouse in Piti. 

In support of TEFAP, G3 assisted the Office of the Governor, government officials, and volunteers in packing and distributing essential food supplies to families in need. The campaign started on Wednesday, May 31, and continued until all food items were bagged for distribution. 

With the G3 team assisting in all aspects of the volunteer assembly line, the program achieved its target of packing 7,500 bags of food commodities. 

According to the Office of the Governor, 143,000 lbs. of food commodities have been delivered to the different villages during the first two days of the campaign. In total, nearly 300,000 lbs. of food items were distributed to the community. 

For Director Austin Shelton, Ph.D., of the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant, it is essential for the G3 team to engage in post-typhoon recovery activities, such as the TEFAP program. 

Shelton said typhoons and other disasters can disrupt the local food supply chain, causing shortages and increasing food insecurity. He said the G3 team can assist in ensuring that affected communities have access to an adequate and nutritious food supply during the recovery process. 

“We just had typhoon Mawar a few days ago. There are a lot of people who are in desperate need of supplies, and we are doing our best by mobilizing our team to package these food commodities and to get them out to our community as quickly as we can,” Shelton said. 

“We have a great partnership with Guam Green Growth. They have been here helping all day,” Stephanie Flores, Administrator of the Guam State Clearinghouse at the Office of the Governor said at the packing site. 

Flores said that the distribution list also includes government agencies that provide direct services to the community. 

“We are also giving directly to those who provide to their clients. For example, Guam Behavioral Health, they do wellness checks for their clients. DISID as well. These agencies are going to pick up and deliver directly to their clients,” Flores said.  

The UOG Center for Island Sustainability facilitates G3, in cooperation with the Office of the Governor of Guam and the G3 Working Group, whose members represent all sectors of society.   

“Our Guam Green Growth initiative is now our island’s largest public-private partnership ever created to achieve a sustainable future. And a critical part of sustainable development is ensuring that our people are secure — that there is less poverty, there is zero hunger, and that we are resilient in terms of climate impacts and disaster mitigation,” Shelton said.