The lack of a viable and sustainable food source is one of the major concerns Karidat Social Services wants to address this year, according to its executive director, Lauri B. Ogumoro.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur biggest concern is giving food to those in need. We\u2019re trying to get our food pantry up and running and sustainable. We\u2019d like to do that because there seems to be a great need,\u201d she told Saipan Tribune last Friday after the non-profit accepted a donation from the United Filipino Organization.<\/p>\n
Ogumoro said Karidat doesn’t really operate a true food bank because it has no food to store for long periods of time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get food and, in just a matter of three days, it\u2019s gone. We really don\u2019t advertise if we have food in the food bank; it\u2019s just through the \u2018coconut wireless.\u2019 A lot of people do call up [asking if there\u2019s food].\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike in the U.S. mainland, the concept of a food bank or food pantry is alien in the CNMI because of the logistics of shipping items to the islands.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need a warehouse at this rate and we\u2019re kind of discovering it\u2019s hard to have a food bank here because everything is shipped in and people don\u2019t really order a lot of extra stuff that they\u2019re not going to sell. So it\u2019s not like there\u2019s an overabundance of extra food,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Asked what type of food items Karidat needs, Ogumoro said canned food and non-perishable items are on the top of the list. They also accept sacks of rice, which they usually repack to give out. <\/p>\n
She admits that the process of distributing food needs to be more efficient, as they only require their clients to fill out a form and the amount of food they get is based on the number of family members.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to be stricter, though, in verifying,\u201d said Ogumoro.<\/p>\n
Aside from donations, Karidat also gets money from Compact impact funding, which is money given annually to Hawaii, Guam, and the CNMI for hosting migrant Micronesians.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepending on how many Micronesians we serve, we get reimbursed by the U.S. government. It actually gives it to the CNMI government and they distribute it to us based on the number of Compact impact folks we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ogumoro said Karidat also gets money if they beg for it from the Legislature. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf we say we\u2019re really short on funding for, like the women\u2019s shelter (Guma Esperanza), they usually come in and help. Individual congressmen are really good in giving us some money as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another source of funding are federal grants, which Ogumoro said they have to write themselves and funds the salaries of all 14 of its staff\u2014five at the Karidat office in Chalan Piao and nine at the Guma Esperanza. <\/p>\n
Karidat is a Northern Mariana Islands social services organization. It operates under the Archdiocese of Chalan Kanoa and was originally a project of bishop emeritus Thomas Camacho.<\/p>\n
Aside from its social services operations, Karidat also runs the Guma Esperanza, which is a shelter for abused women and children. <\/p>\n
Karidat is located in the 1st floor of the VSS Sablan Building, Chalan Piao. For more information about Karidat, call 234-6981. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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