Port of Spain, Trinidad. May 28^th, 2020: Angostura^® employees distributed $1Million worth of hampers within a three-day period to families who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 10^th, we announced that our employees were embarking on a food drive after giving up their paid vacation entitlements to assist families in need. The Company’s Management, Executives and the Board of Directors also financially donated to the food drive. Employees created a pool of funds valued at $1Million towards their initiative entitled “From Our Angostura Family To Yours”. In fact, employees sourced, ordered and purchased all the items themselves using the money they donated from their benefits. 

In addition, they also packed all the boxes of hampers to be distributed to families. Every employee was given the opportunity to select families across the country who need help and they personally delivered the hampers to them. In addition, hampers were given out to several NGOs including the Loveuntil Foundation, Serving Women and Youth, as well as National Family Services and bartenders. Other groups collecting hampers were councillors from the Morvant/Laventille communities, the Inter-Agency Task Force and the North Eastern Division Community Policing Unit.   

Each food hamper consisted of over 60 items including canned foods, dry goods, fresh produce, meats, dairy products, cleaning supplies and toiletries. Many suppliers contributed to the employees’ food drive by donating additional items, and as a result, the employees were able to give families at least a month’s worth of groceries. Angostura^® would like to thank all the suppliers that supported our employees, either by donating items or by significantly reducing their prices, which increased the value of the hampers as our employees were able to include more items in each hamper. The cost of each hamper would have doubled if the items were purchased on the retail market. 

The employees who are represented by the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union said the food drive meant a lot to them because it was their way of giving back to those who need help at this difficult time. President General of the SWWTU, Michael Annisette said the employees’ initiative to give up their vacation days to donate money towards the food drive and to personally pack all the hampers was a labour of love and an indication of the humility of the Angostura employees.  

Angostura^® is very proud of its team and their commitment to helping vulnerable families at this crucial time. Our employees were able to put a smile on the faces of many families across Trinidad & Tobago. 

The employees’ initiative is the first of its kind in T&T and comes off the back of our hand sanitizer project in March when we donated 70,000 bottles to first responders, communities and businesses with frontline staff. The Angostura^® family will continue to lend support in whatever way we can during this dreaded pandemic.