History

FEED THE HUNGRY, DOING IT OUR WAY.
When guests come to a Filipino home, very often the first question the owner asks is “O, Kumain na ba kayo?”

A simple act of helping a hungry street boy during a Christmas visit to the Philippines, Tessie Alarcon did not know she was going to start a fire that until now still burns in the heart of many Filipinos here and abroad. Feed the Hungry, a charitable organization founded through her efforts has turned into a vibrant, credible, and trusted multi-program organization. FtH now has an ever-increasing number of volunteers from the Washington, D.C. area, Hawaii, Nevada, and other parts of the United States. Its volunteers, most of whom are also valued donors, have been implementing the many projects of FtH from educational projects and infrastructure to calamity relief and rehabilitation. Its efforts are mainly directed to help alleviate poverty and improve the economic conditions of Filipino families who are in dire need of help.

Hicming-Catanduanes — Smiles and helloes from the students of Hicming Elementary School in Catanduanes.

From its inception in 1992, Feed the Hungry has sent approximately two hundred million pesos worth of assistance to the Philippines as direct help to indigent communities, some thru its long partnership with the Commission of Filipinos Overseas. These monies successfully fundraised by Feed the Hungry of which practically every dollar have been expended towards all its programs, do not include those monies directly spent by its officers and countless volunteers, who, for the last 24 years of its [FtH] existence, have always personally paid their way: in international and domestic air tickets, in hotels and accommodations, in meals, in land or sea transportation, so they can reach those they have committed in their hearts and minds to help.

At any given year doing implementation, a minimum of two dozen Feed the Hungry board members, officers, and volunteers farm out to many parts of the Philippines to personally make sure they reach those that need help the most.

Feed the Hungry, Inc. efforts have translated to:

1. Over one hundred forty (140) classrooms built, complete with student desks, teacher’s table and chair, and upgraded toilet facilities. Some of these classrooms were revisited to institute repairs as calamities hit;
2. Fourteen water systems installed or improved upon;
3. Over 5,000 malnourished children under the age of six (6) benefited in fifty six (56) supplemental feeding sites;
4. Eleven (11) housing projects;
5. Twenty Six (26) livelihood projects located throughout the Philippines, received more than Php4.8 million in funding;
6. Two hundred eleven (211) students in public and private schools, in universities, given education scholarships;
7. Over 150,000 used books distributed to public schools and libraries
8. Three thousand eighty eight (3,088) new DepEd mandated textbooks distributed to schools where FTH classrooms were built;
9. Eighty three (83) sets of computers and IT equipment given to schools;
10. Ten (10) Braille machines given to Special Education (SPED) schools;
11. Over 300 children provided with tuberculosis screening and treatment;
12. More than one hundred thousand (100,000) families benefited from calamity relief, some emergency medical assistance, and rehabilitation efforts.

Feed the Hungry, Inc. (FtH) is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt, non-profit charitable organization based in Washington, D.C. Started in 1992 and officially incorporated in 1993, FtH is wholly volunteer-driven and started as a gift giving and feeding project for indigent children in the Philippines by a group of World Bank Group and IMF (International Monetary Fund) Filipino staff and joined by Filipino-American volunteers in the community.