Goya Routes Five Truckloads of Food Into Colombia’s Earthquake Zone

More than 200,000 pounds move through a Florida relief organization

Goya Foods announced on August 13, 2026, that it has donated more than 200,000 pounds of food to communities in western Colombia struck by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake of August 10, routing the shipment through Global Empowerment Mission, the Doral, Florida-based disaster relief organization running distributions in the affected departments.

The donation totals five truckloads of Goya products and is being made through Goya Gives, the company’s philanthropic program. Global Empowerment Mission, known as GEM, is handling logistics and last-mile distribution. The announcement did not disclose a dollar value for the shipment, a staging point, or the specific municipalities that will receive it.

The earthquake hit at 7:34 a.m. on Monday, August 10, 2026, about three miles south of San José del Palmar, in the department of Chocó, at a depth of 68 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey. The magnitude 7.4 quake was the strongest to hit the country in a decade, said Julio Fierro Morales, director general of the Servicio Geológico Colombiano (Colombian Geological Survey), according to CNN en Español.

The Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, or UNGRD) reported that as of 6:30 a.m. on Friday, August 14, the earthquake had killed 285 people, injured 3,975 and left 379 missing, as reported by El Colombiano. The agency counted 12,828 homes destroyed and 73,455 damaged, with 45,523 families — 102,263 people — affected across 15 departments and 426 municipalities. UNGRD had reported 140 collapsed buildings as of August 13. Cali, Pereira, Quibdó, Manizales and Armenia remain under red alert.

In Cali, in Valle del Cauca, the city government reported 104 deaths, 1,401 injuries and 115 people still missing as of 6 p.m. on August 13, along with 45 buildings fully collapsed, 46 partially collapsed and 1,142 structurally damaged, according to El País. Rescuers had pulled 88 people alive from the rubble in the city, and 8,236 tons of debris had been removed.

GEM began daily distributions across the affected departments on August 12, working with the Bogotá-based foundation Solidaridad por Colombia and the volunteer motorcycle group Motorrad Angels. The organization has divided its response into an immediate relief phase covering food, water, hygiene supplies, tents and bedding, and a later early-recovery phase. GEM previously operated in Colombia during the January 2024 wildfires, and its Latin America headquarters is in La Guaira, Venezuela.

“This donation gives GEM the ability to rapidly move essential resources directly into the hands of families impacted by the earthquakes in Colombia,” said Michael Capponi, founder and president of Global Empowerment Mission. “Our model is built around speed, efficiency and strong partnerships, ensuring aid arrives quickly and reaches the communities where it has the greatest impact.”

Peter Unanue of Goya Foods framed the donation in terms of the company’s 90-year history. “For 90 years, Goya has stood with communities in times of need,” he said. “We hope this donation provides nourishment and comfort to families as they recover and rebuild.”

The Colombia shipment follows a similar operation six weeks earlier. On June 29, 2026, Goya announced a donation of 100,000 pounds of food for Venezuela after back-to-back earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck west of Caracas on June 24. That shipment also moved through GEM, distributed out of Goya’s warehouse in Miami.

Sovereign and corporate contributions have followed in Colombia. President Abelardo de la Espriella said on August 13 that the United Arab Emirates was donating $10 million USD for relief. The South American Football Confederation and the Colombian Football Federation announced a combined $1 million USD for reconstruction. The United States Department of State deployed two urban search-and-rescue teams to assist Colombian first responders on August 12, the agency said. Vice President José Manuel Restrepo has said multilateral institutions presented cooperation proposals totaling $1.3 billion USD.

De la Espriella has declared a state of economic, social and ecological emergency to speed reconstruction. The government declared a national disaster on the day of the quake, and the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (Financial Superintendency of Colombia) has since put draft relief rules for affected borrowers and insurance claimants out for public comment.

Goya Foods is a privately held, family-owned company founded in 1936 and headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It describes itself as the largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States. Its Goya Gives program works with food banks, churches, shelters, schools and cultural institutions, and has directed food shipments to disasters in the US and abroad.

Goya products at a company warehouse. (Photo courtesy Goya Foods)