One of South Florida’s largest food banks is asking the public for donations as its food distribution sites across the region try to keep up with the high demand of families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Out in Pembroke Park, Feeding South Florida has a small group of volunteers preparing and distributing meal boxes to those families in need.
Lately, they say they’ve run into an issue. Too many people in the community are volunteering. In fact, so many people have volunteered that the non-profit organization has had to turn some people away in order to limit people’s interaction.
What Feed South Florida says it needs at the moment is funds. They’re desperately asking the public to donate to their COVID-19 response fund to keep up with the needs of those families.
“This demand, there is nothing to compare it to,” Feeding South Florida CEO, Paco Velez says. “You combine a hurricane with a government shutdown and then expand that to the entire community. That’s what it looks like.”
The organization says it’s been having trouble getting its hands on perishable items and fresh meat. They say they’ve also had to put a hold on food drives, instead focusing on getting meals from retail stores and growers.
