Melissa Response: Farms & Food Security

Hey everyone,

Thank you! Because of your support, our work in Jamaica has moved from emergency recovery to long-term resilience.

Nearly a year after Hurricane Melissa, the farms we helped rebuild are growing and selling again. At the first annual Blue Foods Conference, we built new partnerships across Jamaica. Now we are turning those partnerships into FEAST Centers, research and training. Here is what your gifts have made possible.

Recovery: rebuilding the farms that anchor their communities

Our SULA recovery grants of $2,000 to $5,000 focus on farms that other farmers depend on, so each grant reaches far beyond a single farm:

• One greenhouse we helped rebuild is back to selling 2,500 heads of lettuce every week. At full capacity they can produce up to 3,800. As the summer heat cools and focus can turn from rebuidling to growing. We should see those higher yeilds. 
• Another farm supplies seedlings to an average of 100 farmers. Helping them get food in the ground or in their system. 
• A third provides inputs; things like seeds, fertilizers to over 30 farmers to help get food on people's plates.

Each of these is a pillar of its farming community. When they recover, their neighbors recover too.

We have also worked an apiary who is back to producing honey, an aquaculture farm who has been able to get fish back to market. A partner organization that helps rebuild roofs with water catchment so both home and farm have a water supply. Little steps, that can make a real and lasting difference in the lives of the people we work with and for. 

The Blue Foods Conference

On September 29 and 30, we joined the first annual Blue Foods Conference in Kingston, organized by the Caribbean Aquaculture, Education & Innovation Hub. It brought farmers, researchers, youth, nonprofits and private growers working on blue foods in Jamaica into one room to share what works and plan together.

Two days of farm tours followed on October 1 and 2. We sponsored a tour of Paul Barrett's aquaponics farm in Manchester, so participants could see a working system up close. The conference gave us the partnerships behind everything that comes next.

New partnerships

Our work in Jamaica now rests on a wide network of partners:

• Caribbean Aquaculture, Education & Innovation Hub, our close partner and the conference organizer.
• Youth in Caribbean Aquaculture (YCA), the Hub's youth arm. Equipment we provided has helped YCA produce useful research and insight for farmers over the past eight months.
• Universities, so that what we learn on the ground is tested, documented and shared.
• Community organizations: BREDS of Treasure Beach and International Samaritans Jamaica, our partners on the first FEAST Centers.
• Private sector farmers, including Green N Gro Farm and Paul Barrett's aquaponics farm in Manchester.

Building next

FEAST Centers. Our goal is to finish our first two Jamaican FEAST Centers, in Kingston and Treasure Beach, by the end of 2026, with International Samaritans Jamaica and BREDS. They will be hands-on hubs for training in climate-smart blue foods, handed over to local partners to run. We are also working toward centers in Westmoreland and Manchester.

Seaweed demonstrations. With the Hub and our university partners, we are planning seaweed farming demonstrations at two sites. Seaweed needs no fresh water, feed or fertilizer, and these pilots will show how it can feed families and support coastal livelihoods.

Shrimp farming in Westmoreland. With a partner, we are developing a large-scale shrimp project in Westmoreland, set to begin in early 2027.

Looking ahead to 2027

Once the first FEAST Centers are built, 2027 is when this work scales up:

• Open in-person and virtual trainings on blue foods systems at the FEAST Centers
• Launch SULA co-funding grants for backyard systems, covering up to 50% of the cost
• Begin FEAST Centers in Westmoreland and Manchester
• Launch seaweed demonstrations at multiple sites
• Start the Westmoreland shrimp project with our partner in early 2027

Coming in fall 2027: Blue Foods Caribe. At the end of the 2027 hurricane season, we will launch Blue Foods Caribe, an interactive map of blue foods across the Caribbean. Blue Atlas will be navigating the Caribbean to map all Blue Food entities. It will help farmers, researchers and partners find each other and share what works, so the region can recover faster after every storm.

Every gift, support, share helps a Jamaican farmer, family or community grow more of its own food. Thank you for standing with Jamaica.

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