The Trump administration tasked a small, inexperienced contractor with delivering 30m meals to Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane Maria, according to a new report. She delivered 50,000.

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in late last September, it demolished homes, destroyed the electricity system and left millions of people dependent on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for food and water. On 3 October, FEMA signed a $156m contract with self-described “serial entrepreneur” Tiffany Brown to deliver millions of meals to the island, according to the New York Times.

By 19 October, they had cancelled the contract. Ms Brown – the sole owner and employee of her contracting company – had delivered only 50,000 meals in the time she was supposed to deliver 18.5m.

“Do not ship another meal. Your contract is terminated. This is a logistical nightmare.” FEMA contracting officer Carolyn Ward wrote in an email to Ms Brown, obtained by the Times.

Ms Brown is now disputing the termination and seeking a $70m settlement. She did not reply to a request for comment.

Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Show all 20 1 /20 Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew chief Kenney shelters under the blade of an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit preparing to take off during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, Puerto Rico, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico An HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit takes off behind Crew Chief Alexander Blake and his fellow soldiers during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Morovis, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew member Bynum stands in tropical rain as a HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit prepares to take off during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot Chris Greenway receives a hug from a woman thanking him for water as he works with the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Verde de Comerio, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A man carries a case of water away from an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after soldiers working with 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit dropped off relief supplies during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Jayuya, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Crew chief Alexander Blake from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit loads water into a helicopter during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents wait for soldiers in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade to deliver food and water during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo Reuters Bringing aid to Puerto Rico An HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit lands in a field to avoid lightning during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Manati, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents hold their hands aloft to signal that they need water as UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade fly past during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, near Ciales, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Tropical rain splashes on a runway as HH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit wait for weather to clear during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Pilot Eldwin Bocanegra Torres speaks with residents isolated by landslides in the mountains after unloading water and food from a helicopter during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, near Utuado, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents stand in front of wind-damaged trees as they wait for soldiers in UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade to deliver food and water during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico The contents of a home are seen from the air during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Utuado, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Thomas looks out of the window of an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit, loaded with relief supplies, during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in Isla Grande, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A message written on the rooftop is seen from the air during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Humacao, October 10, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico A HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit lands in a field during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria in San Sebastian, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Sergeant First Class Eladio Tirado, who is from Puerto Rico, looks for a landing spot for a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria near Ciales, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Boys carry water away from an HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after soldiers working with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit dropped off relief supplies during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Jayuya, October 5, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Sergeant First Class Eladio Tirado from the First Armored Division's Combat Aviation Brigade, who is from Puerto Rico, speaks with residents as he helps during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in San Lorenzo, October 7, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson Bringing aid to Puerto Rico Residents peek through a fence at helicopters from 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit that had parked in a locked field during recovery efforts following Hurricane Maria, in Lares, October 6, 2017 Reuters/Lucas Jackson

The Atlanta-based entrepreneur started her company, Tribute Contracting LLC, in 2013. According to her LinkedIn page, Ms Brown also operates a fashion line and once staged a write-in campaign for Atlanta mayor.

Her company has been awarded more than 20 government contracts since it began, according to a federal database. The government has also cancelled its contracts with her company at least five times, according to the Times. On four of those occasions, the government accused Ms Brown of failing to deliver.

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To help complete last year’s FEMA contract, Ms Brown hired two subcontractors: catering company Cooking With A Star LLC and emergency food provider Breedlove Foods Inc.

Bill Miller, the CEO of BreedLove, told The Independent he only learned that the contract had been cancelled when his drivers called him from a port in Jacksonville, Florida and told him their deliveries were being denied.

“We then had some dialogue with Tribute, and Tribute requested we not discuss this with FEMA; they were trying to resolve it,” Mr Miller said. “And we said, ‘We need to step back and look at this’.”

Now, the company is sitting on the two 40-ft containers of supplies it shipped to Puerto Rico, along with two other containers it intended to send, and the raw materials needed for yet another shipment.

Kendra Robinson, the director of Cooking With A Star catering, told the Times that she, too, was sitting on about 75,000 prepared meals. Ms Brown said the subcontractors have threatened to sue for breach of contract.

FEMA declined to comment on Ms Brown’s appeal, but a spokesperson told the Times that the situation had not affected their food distribution efforts in Puerto Rico.

“At the time of the contract termination there were ample commodity supplies in the pipeline, and distribution was not affected,” spokesman William Booher said, adding that the agency has sourced more than 200m meals during the 2017 hurricane season.