I remember being a foodie as I grew up.  I can still see the heavily stained, fit breadfruit hanging from the tree; It was always an eye-catching.  During breadfruit season breadfruit trees in St. Mary were packed enough for us to “stone dawg” as people would say.  Growing up, it wasn’t unusual to collect breadfruits, head to the bushes with salt and butter, roast and fill our stomachs with breadfruit bathed with butter and salt; and then head to the beach to swim it off.   Those days seemed like yesterday.  

It was only fitting for me to introduce Mary McLaughlin with the memory of my love for a fruit that is served on every plate in Jamaica.  If you grew up in Jamaica, you have certainly been exposed to or eaten breadfruit, roasted, roast-fried, boiled, or in soup.  Whichever way, breadfruit is a favorite staple among Jamaicans.   I call Mary the breadfruit lady.  From the first day I met her by phone she has championed the benefits of eating breadfruit.  By the time I met Mary at a conference hosted by the Clinton Global Initiative in Puerto Rico, she had already introduced me to breadfruit farmers and other manufacturers and consumers of the fruit: Breadfruit flour, Breadfruit Vodka, Breadfruit cookies, cakes, fritters, and pancakes.  
 Mary, affectionately called “the Breadfruit Lady” is the CEO of the Trees That Feed Foundation, based in Chicago.  Originally from Kingston, she co-founded Trees that Feed with her husband  Michael and has been donating fruit trees for the better part of eleven years to recipients across Jamaica, the rest of the Caribbean and the world. 
She calls breadfruit the “miracle fruit” that saves lives and provides sustainable food for families.  Since 2010 the Trees That Feed Foundation has planted well over 200,000 fruit trees.  “Trees that are feeding thousands of children with breadfruit products every week.” Mary shares excitedly.  She is passionate about planting fruit trees, especially breadfruit.  This year Trees that Feed has donated over 30,000 trees to the Caribbean Tree Planting Project (CTPP) coordinated by CariPhil Alliance, the Jamaica Diaspora Taskforce Action Network, and multiple partners.  The Jamaica Diaspora Agriculture Taskforce (JDETF)  has issued over 4,000 trees of those trees to Farmers under the JDTAN Plant Nuff Tree initiative.  

Mary and her husband Michael are retired and spend their time gifting trees to anyone who is serious about ensuring the trees’ sustainability, feeding the hungry, and food security and safety. Their network includes nurseries, schools, farmers, dried fruit processors, churches,  and individuals who care about the environment and agriculture. The breadfruit lady Mary McLaughlin is a true philanthropist. She is playing her part, as a proud Jamaican, advancing the welfare of the whole human race. Find out more by visiting www.treesthatfeed.org or facebook.com/treesthatfeed 
To submit an organization to be profiled contact:
The Jamaica Diaspora Worldwide Organizations Taskforce (JDWOT)
jdwot@jdtan.org