01/17/2024

Less than two years after she joined as the much-needed administrative support for one of the nation’s most inspiring volunteer-based non-profits, Nicolette Fountain Archer has been named the new executive director of the Bahamas Feeding Network. She replaces Fr. James Palacious.

Her appointment was announced today by Chairman Felix Stubbs.

““We want to thank Fr. James Palacious who was very much enjoying his retirement from a life of serving God through many congregations and gave us more than a year in the secular world of serving the hungry,” said Stubbs. “All the while we have been watching how Nicolette moved into a newly created administrative position and made it her mission to take the back office to a new standard. We can think of no one more qualified to step into the shoes that have now been worn by three very dynamic men, all of whom continue to support the Bahamas Feeding Network.”

Fountain Archer, a former principal at St. Anne’s, spent decades in education with a special interest in sports and wellness.

She takes over the helm of Feeding Network at a time when it is struggling to keep up with demand.

“In the most recent 18-month period we packed and distributed food parcels providing more than one million meals, but every week it gets harder to fill those parcels and get food to the people who need it – famillies that just cannot get ends to meet, single mothers, seniors whose National Insurance pensions run out,” said Fountain Archer.

“But I am a great believer that you are never given more than you can handle and I am honoured to be in a position where every day I come to work and I, along with our great volunteers, can make a difference in the lives of people in The Bahamas.”

Founded in 2013 under the patronage of H.E. Frank Crothers and headed by Smith until 2022, BFN grew from preparing, packaging and handing hot meals to the Fox Hill community and a handful of churches to packaging food parcels and distributing to more than 100 churches and feeding centres throughout Nassau, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and Abaco.

Today, BFN’s top priority is fund-raising.

“There are major feeding centres that depend on the Bahamas Feeding Network to help them take care of the needs of people in their communities whether that community is on Wulff Road or Mackey Street or Tarpum Bay, Eluethera,” said Stubbs. “We cannot let them down and the board of BFN knows that Nicki will give it her all.”

According to Fountain Archer, the work starts with enlisting smaller companies to make ongoing donations.

“We have benefitted from incredibly generous donations by corporate giants like Royal Caribbean and Bahamian companies like Sysco and AML Foods, but now with donations post-COVID down nearly 40 percent, we want to take it to the neighbourhood and make sure that everyone who can help knows how to do so and how much they are needed.”

The new executive director has already started down that path with Paradise Island-based Quality Care Pharmacy planning a health fair, fun run and walk on February 3. All proceeds go to BFN.