SLHTA commits to monthly community food drives

Tourism stakeholders will mobilise monthly to deliver non-perishable items to communities and individuals in need across the country.

Spearheaded by the Saint Lucia Hospitality and Tourism Association (SLHTA), the project, officially launched on February 27 under the title of “One Can, One Love”, encourages members to donate non-perishable food items on a fortnightly or monthly basis. Contributions will be distributed to community groups most in need.

SLHTA’s technical officer for Community Projects, Tamara Amos, said the initiative evolved from the association’s Food Voucher Drive, which takes place in December. “We noticed the need for us to give back to the communities, not only yearly, but if we could do it monthly,” she said.

StolenTime by Sunswept Resorts was the first property to contribute, and Amos called their donation “magnificent”.

“They went all out,” Amos said. “Our next phase is to go into the communities and collaborate with community groups to deliver those food items. We look forward to more member companies coming on board to continue this initiative.”

Corporate director of Human Resources at SunSwept Resorts, Genevieve Dixon, said partnering with SLHTA on the initiative aligns with their commitment to giving back to communities, a nod to their Cares initiative. Dixon said the resort’s staff played a pivotal role in collecting donations.

“Team members from every single department donated to the cause. They were actually running little competitions to see which department can donate the most. We had flyers within our team member restaurant, and we just really had a lot of support,” said Dixon.

SLHTA says it is confident the initiative will make a lasting difference. The association told St. Lucia Times that it is in the planning phase to deliver additional items to other communities in the month ahead. Members can contact the SLHTA office for further information.