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Feeding South Florida recently announced it received a $300,000 donation from Publix Super Markets Charities to begin Hunger Action Month. The donation will be used to support additional food distributions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Feeding South Florida serves an estimated 1.4 million neighbors facing food insecurity in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
Hunger Action Month is a nationwide initiative created by Feeding America that takes place throughout September and is designed to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in America.
Feeding South Florida has seen a 600 percent increase in the need for food support in the four counties that it serves since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and Publix Charities’ donation will help increase capacity and meet this elevated need. Publix Charities has given a total of $300,000 to Feeding South Florida in 2020.
“We are incredibly grateful to Publix Charities for its generous donation to help us continue to serve an estimated 1.4 million individuals facing food insecurity in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties,” said Feeding South Florida president and CEO Paco Velez. “This donation comes at a critical time, when the demand for food has increased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Publix Charities understands that more families are turning to Feeding South Florida to help put food on their tables.”
Additionally, as the impact of the pandemic took shape, many produce and dairy farmers around the Southeast saw their buying partners dry up and found themselves dumping or plowing over product they could no longer sell. Meanwhile, food banks throughout the region were experiencing substantial increases in need. To bridge the gap, Publix implemented a program to purchase surplus produce and milk from farmers and deliver it directly to food banks. Since then, Publix has purchased and delivered more than 11 million pounds of produce and 500,000 gallons of milk to Feeding America member food banks throughout the Southeast, including 1,443,316 pounds of produce and 106,920 gallons of milk to Feeding South Florida.
“It has been our privilege to support hunger relief throughout the Southeast for many years now, and this work has never been more important,” said Publix CEO Todd Jones. “We are grateful for the opportunity to support Feeding South Florida and to alleviate hunger in the communities we serve and bring hope to those who need it most during these uncertain times.”
The $300,000 donation from Publix Charities to Feeding South Florida is one of several donations made this year to help provide food and other essential support to those hardest hit by the pandemic. In all, Publix Charities has donated $5 million to Feeding America member food banks and other nonprofit partners in 2020.
Feeding South Florida’s food distributions are updated daily and available at https://feedingsouthflorida.org/covid19/. To find out how you can help, learn about what Feeding South Florida is doing, safety precautions, and much more, visit https://feedingsouthflorida.org/covid19/.
