Feeding South Florida to Host Mega Food Distribution

Feeding South Florida will hold a mega food distribution on Saturday, May 9, to serve 5,000 families in need. The event will take place at the Boynton Beach Mall/Christ Fellowship Church parking lot (801 N. Congress Avenue, Boynton Beach 33426) from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The organization has seen a 600 percent increase in demand since the COVID-19 pandemic began and is working to respond to the evolving needs of those who are food insecure across Palm Beach County.

The mega food distribution aims to provide additional support for those in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, Greenacres, and Lantana. This is a pilot food distribution, and if successful, will be replicated by Feeding South Florida throughout the tri-county area as part of its efforts to continue increasing food access.

Feeding South Florida will distribute fresh produce, protein, dairy and shelf-stable items on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. Eight trucks’ worth of food will be distributed at this event.

The food distribution is made possible with the support of the City of Boynton Beach, The Boynton Beach Police Department, Boynton Beach Recreation & Parks Department, Boynton Beach Mall, and Christ Fellowship Church.

“In response to increased need, and based on an analysis of where we’re seeing the highest volume of additional requests for support, Feeding South Florida is creating this mega distribution to provide a weekend opportunity for families to access the critical food necessary to make it through the week,” said Sari Vatske, executive vice president of Feeding South Florida.

“This is an exemplary example of local partners coming together to assist our community during COVID-19. The need is great and we are very appreciative to Feeding South Florida and Christ Fellowship Church, both based in Boynton Beach, for their continued support over the past 7 weeks,” said Lori LaVerriere, city manager of Boynton Beach.

Feeding South Florida’s Palm Beach County weekly food distributions schedule:

City of West Palm Beach – Mondays, 9–11 a.m.
City of Lake Worth – Tuesdays, 9–11 a.m.
Town of Wellington – Tuesdays, 9–11 a.m.
City of Palm Beach Gardens – Tuesdays, 9–11 a.m.
City of Delray Beach – Wednesdays, 9–11 a.m.
Village of Royal Palm – Wednesdays, 9–11 a.m.
City of Boynton Beach – Christ Fellowship Church – Thursdays, 9–11 a.m. (Moved this week only to Saturday, May 9)
City of Rivera Beach – Fridays, 9–11 a.m.
City of Greenacres – Fridays, 9–11 a.m.
Town of Jupiter – Fridays, 9–11 a.m.

In Palm Beach County alone, there are over 180,000 food insecure individuals who are struggling to put food on the table. Since March 9 in Palm Beach County, Feeding South Florida has distributed over 6.7 million pounds of food.

By: Abigail Duffy
Originally published on May 6, 2020 by Palm Beach Illustrated. View original article, here.