Community Aids Hungry Families Empty Your Pantry Drive

Second Empty Your Pantry food drive helps Feeding South Florida, Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches.

In Palm Beach County, where the distance between need and wealth is narrower than that of digits in a ZIP code, one person’s spanking-clean pantry is another person’s summer larder.

Once again, Shiny Sheet readers stepped up and delivered for the second annual Empty Your Pantry Food Drive, a joint effort of the Town of Palm Beach United Way, Palm Beach Fire Rescue, and this newspaper.

This year’s food drive, which ended last week, yielded more than a ton – 2,075 pounds – of non-perishables.

“We are so grateful for the donations, and to our food drive partners for expanding our reach,” said Joyce Reingold, editor and publisher of the Palm Beach Daily News. “Thanks to each one of you. We’ll be back with our school supply drive in July, so start stocking up now.”
The total amount of funds accepted by the Town of Palm Beach United Way was $2,825.

“Thank you, Palm Beach! As always, our community stepped up by supporting the second annual Empty Your Pantry Food Drive,” said Beth Walton, chief executive officer of the Town of Palm Beach United Way. “The donated food is especially important during the summer months when many children aren’t receiving meals at school.”

The collected food and funds will be divided between the anti-hunger programs of Feeding South Florida and of Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches.

Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches last year served 1,534 families who were homeless or at risk of homelessness.

“Thank you so much to all the Palm Beach Daily News readers who donated to the Empty Your Pantry food drive,” said Chere Camus Brodi, development director for the organization. “Adopt-A-Family is using the donated food for families in crisis who are coming to the Senator Philip D. Lewis Homeless Resource Center. With the monetary donations, we are purchasing Publix gift cards to give to clients who find themselves in an emergency with no resources for food and diapers. These donations will make a difference this summer for our families in need.”

Through its network of nearly 300 partner agencies, Feeding South Florida serves 949,910 people, including children, the working poor and older adults in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

The food drive was the brainchild of Helen Barberian, a seasonal resident who found herself reluctant to toss canned goods left from her end-of-season pantry clean-out, and posed the idea of a food drive.

Donors from the second annual Empty Your Pantry Food Drive:
Brian and Eileen Burns
Lynn Crippen
Rosalee Davidson
Alan and Virginia Eades
Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Kligman
Robert A. Lewis
Jean and Wayne Meisenzahl
Bridget and Tim Moran
Betty Nelander
Joyce Reingold
Harland and Ann Riker
M. Elizabeth Rogers
Jane Smith
Mr. and Mrs. Barry Snyder
Rita Sullivan
Lynn Surovek
Bud Tamarkin
Geraldine J. Trent
J.D. Vivian
Mr. and Mrs. James Walton
Nancy Wheeler
Sylvia Wright
Richard and Rosalee Davidson
Diane Parisan Design LLC
Alan and Virginia Eades
Renate Franco
Heather Collins Grattan
Christy Holton Hubbard
Walter and Susan Kirkbride
Susan Kirkbride
Wanda Marston
Betsy K. Matthews
Lucie and Chip Moffett
JoAnne Polozker
Joyce Reingold
Harland and Ann Riker
John Robinson
Noel Sette
Betsy Shiverick
Ron and Ruth Silberstein
Leora K. Stewart
Rita Sullivan
Peter and Penny Townsend
Geraldine J. Trent
Carolyn Whitley
Belle Winston
Leo and Frances Amore
Neil and Vicky Aronstam
Blake Coleman
Payson Coleman
Demko Family
Kim Devon
Julia Duggard
Mary Dunn
George and Sandy Garfunkel
Rick and Lotsie Holton
Susan Kirkbridge
Jerry and Jeannie Kligman
Daniel and Sheila McDonnell
Sam and Anita Michael
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Pearlman
Publix
Peter and Shannon Reed
Elizabeth Schiller
KiKi Schiller
Madeline Schwartz
Dr. and Mrs. Bernard Segal
Ron and Ruth Silberstein
Mary Lou Walsh
Howard Weiss
Brian Wille
Joan Abbott
Michael Ainslie
Tony Angiuli
Dr. and Mrs. Alan Bramowitz
Stephanie Charny
Barbie and Bill Claggett
Coniglio Family
Susie Dwinell
Employees of The Palm Beach Post and Palm Beach Daily News
Mr. and Mrs. Milton Fine
Leo Forman
Connie Galley
Sherman Goodrich
Jonathan Haggerty
Helene Herzig
Jeannie Kligman
Ruth Kostner
Mrs. Silverman
Matthew and Ann Natale
David Orstein
Alice Rudin
Patti Sans
Kiki Schiller
Louise Thorpe
Angela and Sam Whittaker