Drew Gives $50G to SoFla Food Bank Hit by Fire
"Price is Right" host steps in with big donation after fire destroys food supply
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Drew Carey
A South Florida food bank devastated by fire is about to get a huge boost from actor Drew Carey, as long as his soccer team wins its next game.
Carey, appearing on the Paul and Young Ron radio show this morning, pledged $50,000 to the Daily Bread Food Bank if his Seattle Sounders soccer team beats the Kansas City Wizards in their MLS game this Saturday.
Daily Bread, a non-profit organization that distributes millions of pounds of food to needy people throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, had its Lauderdale Lakes warehouse gutted by fire on Oct. 8.
Over 93,000 pounds of food were destroyed in the fire, the group's entire supply.
Since news of the fire broke, donations of food and money have been rolling in - the group received 5,000 pounds of food last weekend alone - but Carey's offer may be the biggest. And it wouldn't be the first time the "Price is Right" host had pulled out his checkbook for the organization. In 2005, after Hurricane Wilma hit the area hard, Carey gave $50,000 to the organization while in town for a comedy gig. And Paul and Young Ron have done their part for Daily Bread, holding annual holiday food drives for the past 14 years, collecting money and food for the non-profit.
Though Carey said he expects his Sounders to win, he'll likely donate the cash regardless of the outcome. And with a mostly-empty warehouse and demand greater than ever, Daily Bread's executive director Judith Gatti said any donation can help.
"In South Florida alone we have over 200,000 children that are in jeopardy of not having enough food," said Gatti. "So those numbers alone show you the enormous amount of work that has to be done."
Daily Bread, which will be changing its name to Feeding South Florida, will get two more much-needed donations today. Angel Food Ministries, another non-profit, will be donating 40,000 meals to the food bank today, and a charity dinner at the Macy's in Aventura will be accepting donations tonight.
"The community coming together and showing their support, it's just so encouraging to all of us that do this every day," Gatti said.
Visit www.dailybread.org for more information of donating to the organization.
Posted Thursday, Oct 15, 2009 - 12:49 PM EST
