City Manager explained the city has collected a significant amount of supplies for hurricane relief to Jamaica and is seeking a nonprofit partner to receive and deliver the items.

The City Manager said Food for the Poor was the primary organization identified so far; staff also reported a survey of regional cities was in process and results were expected soon. Commissioners recommended including Dare to Care and other local charities as partners, arguing local organizations and community volunteers can better reach some inland and hard-to-reach communities. Several commissioners described recent volunteer packing events: one event produced 28 filled pods and required more than 30 volunteers working overnight to pack and stage supplies for shipment.

Commissioners and staff discussed logistics: packing pods, scheduling pickups, coordinating flights and in-country distribution. Commissioners noted that Food for the Poor sometimes coordinates with Jamaica's Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and that some critics say centrally distributed shipments can miss households in less-accessible areas; local charities and volunteer groups can target neighborhoods and mountain communities that larger distributions may not reach.

Staff said the city's pod at collection sites is currently full and additional pickups are scheduled; depending on volume staff may add another pod. City staff confirmed that Food for the Poor would need to be added to the city's charitable-entities list and that the addition will be placed on the Wednesday agenda for formal approval.

No final sole partner was named at the workshop; commissioners expressed support for using multiple organizations to broaden reach and to provide surge capacity if a primary partner pauses intake or delivery.