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Feeding South Florida continues to feed thousands of families during holiday season

Posted at 12:29 PM, Nov 25, 2020
and last updated 2020-11-25 16:24:52-05

The day before Thanksgiving Day, Feeding South Florida is putting food on the table for thousands of families in need.

“We’re here distributing for 500 families and we’re across town distributing for another 1,000 families across South Florida,” Paco Velez, CEO & President of Feeding South Florida.

Feeding South Florida has always helped families in need, especially during the pandemic.

“We’ve seen the need go up from 700,000 individuals pre-pandemic to 1.5 million individuals during the pandemic. We’ve only seen the number of families increase especially since the resources for those families have started to dwindle,” said Velez.

“A lot of people have lost their jobs, a lot of people are really struggling right now so to have an event like this where we’re able to help these families particularly before Thanksgiving, it’s a great thing. We’re here to help our community,” said Bryan Avila, Florida Representative.

Boxes are filled with pre-cooked protein, milk, eggs and fresh mixed produce.

“It helps a lot because I’m hurting for money right now just like a lot of other people,” said Mark Diebold.

However, funds from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which was launched by the federal government, are running out.

“Phase 1 we were receiving 160 truck loads of food every week. Phase 2 we were receiving 110 truck loads every week. Phase 3 down to 60, now here in Phase 4 we’re down to 14, and our families are truly struggling. After next Monday, we’re not sure what we’re going to do to bring food in,” said Velez.

Right now, Feeding South Florida is depending on donations and volunteers. If you’d like to support the nonprofits mission, click here.
For a list of food distributions, click here.