Excerpt from the Jamaica Observer column published Monday, April 12, 2021
By Jean Lowrie-Chin
Photo: Jamaica Observer
The Food For the Poor family is mourning the passing of one of the organisation’s co-founders, Joseph Mitchell “Joe” Mahfood. He was not only a remarkable philanthropist, but also an industrial pioneer, building with his brother Sam the Wisynco Group of Companies.
His son, William Mahfood, who is now chairman of the Wisynco Group, says he remembers his father’s research and the long hours he put in to grow the company. Despite his entrepreneurial successes, William said his father always regarded as his crowning achievement the founding of Food For the Poor with his brothers Ferdinand, Sam, and Robin in Jamaica in 1982. The organisation has grown into one of the USA’s biggest charities, serving 17 countries in the Caribbean and Central America.
The staff of Food For the Poor Jamaica remember his compassion for his fellow Jamaicans and shared his mantra: “The most useful asset of a person is not a head full of knowledge, but a heart full of love, with ears open to listen, and hands willing to help.”
May his beautiful soul rest in peace.
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