Hurricane Melissa made landfall near New Hope, Jamaica, on October 28, 2025, as a Category 5 hurricane, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The storm damaged homes, infrastructure, farms, and livelihoods across western Jamaica.
In the weeks that followed, households faced two connected needs: food for the immediate recovery period and resources to restart the farming activities that supported their income. HDF’s response combined both forms of assistance through food packages and agricultural support delivered with local guidance.
Why farming is central to recovery
For farming households, storm damage can remove several sources of stability at once. Lost crops and livestock affect food at home, income from sales, and the ability to finance the next planting cycle.
This challenge extended beyond HDF’s project locations. In December 2025, the World Food Programme reported that local markets in several western parishes were gradually recovering and identified the restoration of agriculture and fisheries as part of Jamaica’s longer-term recovery.
HDF reports that its local response focused on helping farming households restart production while meeting immediate food needs.
What HDF provided
According to HDF’s Jamaica Emergency Relief page, teams and local partners provided or supported four forms of assistance:
- Food packages for households during the recovery period
- Poultry and feed for families whose chickens supported household income
- Seeds and young plants to help farmers begin replanting
- Guidance from local agricultural teams
These interventions serve different timelines. Food packages address immediate household needs. Poultry, feed, seeds, and young plants are livelihood inputs whose value depends on suitability, timing, survival, and continued access to land, water, and markets.
The published article does not state how many households received each form of assistance. HDF should add verified totals, distribution dates, named parishes or communities, partner organizations, and package specifications before presenting this as a complete impact report.
Food support during the transition
Agricultural recovery takes time. Crops need to be planted and maintained before they can be harvested, while poultry must remain healthy before it can again support food or income. Food packages can help cover part of the gap while households work to restore production.
HDF reports distributing food packages alongside the agricultural assistance. To help donors understand the scale and duration of that support, the next update should specify the number of packages, their contents, the number of households reached, and the period each package was designed to cover.
What HDF should report next
A strong recovery update should follow the assistance beyond distribution. For this project, HDF should report:
- Households reached, separated by food, poultry, feed, seeds, and young plants
- Locations, dates, implementing partners, and selection criteria
- Quantities and specifications for each package or agricultural input
- Whether livestock remained healthy and planting materials survived
- Whether participating households resumed production or earned income
- Challenges such as damaged land, water access, veterinary care, or market access
This information would show donors what was delivered and whether the support helped households move from immediate relief toward renewed production.
Support recovery in Jamaica
HDF’s Jamaica work is designed to connect immediate food assistance with practical support for farming households.
Support Jamaica’s hurricane recovery and help HDF provide food and locally guided agricultural assistance to affected families.
