Utah volunteers bring food to people in Haiti


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SALT LAKE CITY -- We have been following a number of stories from Haiti that have Utah connections. One of those has been about volunteers -- people who are donating their time and risking their own safety to make a difference.

One of the things the group led by entrepreneur Jeremy Johnson is doing is taking food into Port-au-Prince. Deseret News photographer Mike Terry rode along with them during a food run.

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Jeremy Johnson's helicopter is stuffed with bags of beans. Terry says, "They land, they load up the helicopter, they get fuel, then they go out and do some more. The guys are impressive. They're pretty tireless in what they do."

The moment the chopper lands, the desperate and hungry come running, using the shirts off their backs as bags to carry the beans. It will be possibly the first meal they've had in days.

Terry explains, "We would land and dump out a couple bags and kind of make a trail, and everybody would just swarm over in seconds. At the end, there wouldn't be a spare bean on the ground. Every one of them gets picked up."

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Terry says they cut the bags open because otherwise, only a few -- usually the stronger men -- will get food. If they spread the beans out, the women and children have a shot at eating. And in less than two minutes, every single bean was gone.

Deseret News still photographer, Jeff Allred's photos captured everything from the tireless doctors and endless patients, to a new business venture for a hot commodity, displayed creatively: shoes.

Tuesday's photos show some things regaining a degree of normalcy -- people doing laundry and a new business on the side of the road.

Terry says it's impossible for the volunteers to help everyone, so they concentrate on what they can do: try to save one life at a time.

He says, "It's putting food in people's mouths, and it is -- it seems to be circumventing some red tape."

He added that flights bringing supplies into Port-au-Prince are getting through easier.

"It's a pretty busy place, but it seems to be moving pretty quickly," Terry says.

As for Jeremy Johnson, he is now on his way back to his hometown of St. George. But he has indicated to Terry that he plans to return to help with the rebuilding effort.

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Story compiled with contributions from Jennifer Stagg and Sarah Dallof.

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