Thanks to a recent grant from the Atkinson Foundation, Plenty Belize is distributging $10,000 worth of hand tools and seeds to farming families impacted by Hurricane Iris last October. As of March 2002, Plenty is in the final stages of procuring and organizing distribution of the tools and seeds among approximately 275 farming families in Toledo. Plenty has been working in consultation with Sustainable Harvest International (SHI), the Belize Ministry of Agriculture, and the Toledo Cacao Growers Association (TCGA) to ascertain the most appropriate tools and seeds to meet the needs of the affected population, and to develop a reasonable plan for equitable distribution. Plenty has made it a priority to purchase the items where possible within Toledo in order to support local merchants who have also been negatively affected by the recent disaster.