FEMA Contracted Company For 30 Million Meals For Puerto Rico, Only 50K Delivered

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the Federal Emergency Management Agency turned to an Atlanta-based entrepreneur to deliver 30 million meals to the devastated island of Puerto Rico at a cost of $156 million.

Only 50,000 were ever delivered.

From The New York Times:

For this huge task, FEMA tapped Tiffany Brown, an Atlanta entrepreneur with no experience in large-scale disaster relief and at least five canceled government contracts in her past. FEMA awarded her $156 million for the job, and Ms. Brown, who is the sole owner and employee of her company, Tribute Contracting LLC, set out to find some help.

Ms. Brown, who is adept at navigating the federal contracting system, hired a wedding caterer in Atlanta with a staff of 11 to freeze-dry wild mushrooms and rice, chicken and rice, and vegetable soup. She found a nonprofit in Texas that had shipped food aid overseas and domestically, including to a Houston food bank after Hurricane Harvey.

By the time 18.5 million meals were due, Tribute had delivered only 50,000. And FEMA inspectors discovered a problem: The food had been packaged separately from the pouches used to heat them. FEMA’s solicitation required “self-heating meals.”

“Do not ship another meal. Your contract is terminated,” Carolyn Ward, the FEMA contracting officer who handled Tribute’s agreement, wrote to Ms. Brown in an email dated Oct. 19 that Ms. Brown provided to The New York Times. “This is a logistical nightmare.”

Brown refers to herself as "almost like a broker" working to subcontract out all her work. She has no employees and no specific skill in any one arena.

Brown is disputing the cancelled saying the agency did not specify that the meals and heaters had to be together.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico continues to struggle.