MIDA, Caritas Puerto Rico partner to promote food security
The partnership’s goal is to strengthen ties between the food industry and community initiatives.
As part of efforts to promote food security at the community level, the Chamber of Food Marketing, Industry and Distribution (MIDA, in Spanish) has signed a collaborative agreement with Caritas Puerto Rico to “promote development in Puerto Rico, transforming lives.”
The partnership’s goal is to raise awareness among MIDA members about Caritas’ programs to establish business relationships between the community and the food industry.
These include micro-entrepreneurship projects producing goods for grocers, an agriculture project in Barranquitas that supplies produce to Econo and Agranel supermarkets, and the “Healthy Pantry” program in collaboration with Grupo NAVIS, parent company of Caribbean Produce, which has received support from Pueblo Supermarkets.
“Caritas of Puerto Rico and the food industry of Puerto Rico have worked together at different times in history, such as when the entity issued vouchers during Hurricane María, making it possible for survivors to purchase food at supermarkets near their homes,” said MIDA President Félix Aponte.
“With this agreement, we want to help make it possible for these alliances to continue expanding and diversifying,” he added.
Caritas Executive Director Enrique Camacho-Monserrate emphasized the organization’s goal of fostering economic independence through its programs.
“We promote the integral development of participants so they can achieve economic self-sufficiency. Even during the management of emergencies, we must always work together and coordinate with all sectors of the island, including the business sector, moving forward with the recovery of the island’s economy,” he said.
The agreement also includes features about Caritas in MIDA’s La Voz de MIDA magazine, participation in email communications to MIDA’s member database and Caritas’ presence at the 2025 MIDA Conference & Food Show.
