Bahamas News
Mosseff House – Bahamas Feeding Network’s Little Kitchen That Could Delivers Over 2,000 Meals a Week Trying to Eradicate Hunger
Bahamas Photographer
#Bahamas, August 24, 2017 – Nassau – In a world of fast-paced, high tech talk and expectations, a ritual plays out every week in a modest house in an even more modest neighbourhood that reminds us of what humanity is all about.
The building where it takes place is called Mosseff House. Donated by the Davis family who never forgot their humble beginnings in the Fox Hill community, the little yellow structure next to the Fox Hill Police Station comes alive every Thursday and Sunday preparing food for the hungry.
Volunteers clean, chop, marinate and cook over 500 pounds of chicken a week. They grate cabbage for coleslaw, stir massive pots of peas ‘n rice, wash and tear enough lettuce to lay out a regulation football field.
And every movement, every stirring with a supersized spoon or plating and packaging in individual containers is accompanied by a smile and inspired by compassion.
“Hunger is a horrible thing to endure, but together we can wipe it out,” says Philip Smith, who has been feeding the hungry for more than a decade, these days as executive director of the Bahamas Feeding Network. “What we see out there breaks your heart. Some of the people in the community who come to collect their meal may not eat another hot meal until the next time they come to the door which could be three or four days away. We are a rich nation and yet there are people hunting for scraps in dumpsters.”
Founded in 2013, the Bahamas Feeding Network is the brainchild of its patron His Excellency Frank Crothers, Ambassador of the Order of Rhodes & Malta. Since its launch, the Network has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in food coupons and supplies to help ease the pain of hunger. It has donated food or cooked meals for over 120 soup kitchens, churches with feeding programs, children’s homes and senior centres throughout The Bahamas. Its vans crisscross the island meeting up with church or feeding centre representatives or feeding centres, its packages are routinely shipped to Family Islands.
Bahamas Photographer
The Feeding Network’s board of directors reads like a Who’s Who of The Bahamas – Felix Stubbs, Chairman, Bamboo Shack and Sapodilla entrepreneur Elaine Pinder, financial services executives Shayne Davis and Patricia Hermanns, Osprey Development and Gunite Pools chairman Peter Whitehead, tireless community service worker Robin Symonette, McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes Partner Sean Moree, Pastor Timothy Stewart.
Nearly every major food retailer or wholesaler has gifted food or sold it at reduced prices for the cause.
Their donations are essential, says Smith. “We could not do it without our sponsors.”
But all the supplies, the 40-lb bags of chickens, the 50-lb sacks of rice, the hundredfold high stacks of Styrofoam containers would be inanimate promises of hope without the hands and hearts of volunteers like Skully and Solomon.
“Their dedication is unbelievable,” says Crothers. “I don’t know how they do what they do and do it with such love.”
Bahamas Photographer
Skully, short for Recina Ferguson, hauls hundreds of pounds of chicken. It may be 1 am Saturday morning when she unlocks the door at Mosseff House to begin prepping for Sunday. While others are sound asleep, she is cleaning, chopping, seasoning. A retired teacher and tutor, she’s been known to work 18 hours straight. And never a penny’s pay. “This is my heart,” she says. On Sunday, her male counterpart, Solomon, a tall, wiry and fit man, hoists a huge steaming tub of peas ‘n rice, running with the burning hot pan to replace the one that volunteers like Wendy Deveaux have just finished dishing out.
With as many as 30 volunteers, often buoyed by organisations like Rotary, Kiwanis and Rotaract that swell the numbers even higher, the cooking and preparation of containers can take as little as five hours or as much as nine. Last Sunday, people from the Fox Hill community collected 300 meals before the distribution with vans even began or church and feeding centre representatives showed up to collect the distribution trays.
“These meals are going to help people who largely fall below the poverty level which the government pegs at $11.74 a day. And the government’s own statistics show that one in every 7-8 people falls into that category. When we cook, plate, package and donate meals to the hungry, everything is carefully accounted for but what we can never measure is the love that goes into each one,” says Smith. “You have to be there, to hear the singing, watch the camaraderie and feel the spirit. Then you will understand.”
A small house with a very large mission.
Press Release: DPA News
Photo Credit: DPA
Bahamas News
Next U.S. Ambassador? Walker Pledges Business-Driven Approach as U.S. Looks to Counter China in The Bahamas
Deandrea Hamilton | Editor
The Bahamas, September 16, 2025 – For the first time since 2011, the United States is on the cusp of sending an ambassador to The Bahamas — and the nominee, former football star turned entrepreneur Herschel Walker, is promising to bring his business instincts to the diplomatic table.
Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, Walker underscored that his background in food-service companies and small business leadership has prepared him to think practically about investment. “I know how to run a business, how to create jobs, how to make payroll. Those lessons translate into building relationships and building trust,” Walker said.
Walker, who was nominated by President Trump in December 2024, faced the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on September 11. As of now, he has not yet been confirmed; his nomination remains under review, pending a committee vote before it can move to the full Senate. If approved, he would become the first U.S. ambassador to The Bahamas since 2011.
For years, U.S. officials have stressed security and counternarcotics cooperation with The Bahamas, including through “Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos.” But in areas like infrastructure, medical care, and long-term investment, Washington has often been absent.
Hospitals and clinics remain under-resourced, and hurricane recovery has been slow in many islands. Chinese state-backed firms, by contrast, have shown up with financing packages and construction deals — a presence that has raised alarms on Capitol Hill.
“Only 50 miles off our shore, The Bahamas is too important for us to ignore,” warned Senate Foreign Relations Committee leaders during Walker’s hearing. They called China’s inroads “strategic, not charitable,” suggesting Beijing’s long game is about ports, proximity, and political leverage.
Walker positioned himself as a nontraditional but pragmatic envoy. He argued that his business career, rooted in private sector success, equips him to champion American investment in The Bahamas.
He pledged to:
- Promote U.S. companies interested in medical and infrastructure projects.
- Support an environment that encourages American investors to see The Bahamas as more than just a beach destination.
- Highlight opportunities for partnerships that improve public services, healthcare, and resilience against hurricanes.
“I’ve built businesses. I know what it takes to attract investors and create opportunity. That is exactly what I intend to bring to our relationship with The Bahamas,” Walker said.
The Bahamas is not just a tourist paradise. It’s a frontline state in migration, drug interdiction, and hurricane response. More than six
million U.S. visitors travel there annually, making stability and safety a U.S. domestic concern as much as a foreign policy one.
And yet, with the ambassador post vacant for 14 years, the U.S. has often looked detached — opening space for China’s ambitious Belt and Road agenda. The fear is that infrastructure deals signed today could give Beijing leverage in the region tomorrow. Walker’s confirmation would symbolize a course correction, signaling Washington’s intent to re-engage not only in security but in the economic future of The Bahamas. Not everyone is convinced Herschel Walker is the right man for the job. His nomination revived controversies from his 2022 Senate run, including past allegations, public gaffes, and doubts about whether he has the diplomatic polish the post demands. Some senators and analysts questioned whether celebrity and business experience were enough for a role requiring nuance in foreign policy and geopolitics.
Critics argued that The Bahamas, sitting just 50 miles from Florida and facing intense Chinese interest, deserves a seasoned diplomat rather than a political ally.
Walker confronted those doubts head-on. “People have underestimated me all my life — in academics, athletics, and business,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “And I have always proven them wrong, through discipline, determination, and by outworking everyone.”
He admitted he had never served as an ambassador but countered that his career prepared him in other ways: building businesses, managing payrolls, and connecting with people from all walks of life. He framed his business background as a strength, promising to use it to encourage U.S. investment in healthcare, infrastructure, and hurricane resilience projects in The Bahamas.
Rather than sparring with critics, Walker leaned on confidence and persistence: “I know how to build trust and find common ground. That’s what this relationship needs.”
If confirmed, Walker would have to balance his role as diplomat with expectations of being a commercial cheerleader for U.S. firms. His emphasis on entrepreneurship suggests a willingness to push U.S. businesses toward opportunities in healthcare, ports, and post-storm reconstruction — areas where Bahamians say they need the most support.
For Bahamian officials, the question will be whether Washington is prepared to back words with financing. U.S. private sector dollars, paired with aid and development partnerships, could help shift the tide against Chinese influence.
For Walker, the test will be whether his business acumen can translate into diplomatic wins — giving Bahamians alternatives to Beijing, while deepening the U.S. role in the Caribbean.
Analysis: If Walker delivers, this appointment could mark a turning point: a U.S. strategy that recognizes that in the Caribbean, investment is diplomacy.
The Bahamas, September 10, 2025 – Rescue swimmers from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Aviation Training Center in
Mobile, Alabama visited Nassau to train Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) and Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) members in water survival skills as part of Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) earlier this week.
“Training alongside our USCG partners ensures our personnel are best prepared for the unique challenges of joint operations” said Superintendent Wendy Pearson, Commander Drug Enforcement Unit.
The multi-day exercise, centered on the USCG’s Shallow Water Egress Training (SWET), enhanced the safety and preparedness of Bahamian partners who routinely operate aboard USCG helicopters during OPBAT missions. The exercise provided hands-on instruction for 31 participants and strengthened interoperability between U.S. and Bahamian agencies engaged in counter-drug, search and rescue, and maritime security operations throughout the region.
“We were excited and proud to have the opportunity to share our expertise with our Bahamian partners. Not only did RBDF and RBPF
perform exceptionally well, they exceeded the standards we set for the event,” said Petty Officer Second Class Cole Johnson, USCG.
OPBAT is a cooperative multi-agency international operation supporting The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos Islands to stop illicit drug smuggling through the region. U.S. Embassy Nassau Chargé d’affaires Kimberly Furnish stated, “Since 1982, OPBAT has worked to stop the flow of illicit narcotics through the Caribbean, destined for the United States or other jurisdictions. This is international cooperation at its best.”
