Gift of Giving 41
Ponte Vedra Recorder · September 24, 2015
Photo submitted by Ron Whittington
Bank of America volunteers are among thousands who help sort and distribute food at Feeding Northeast Florida’s distribution center on Edgewood Avenue
Feeding Northeast Florida delivers nearly
18 million pounds of food in first year
Citing ongoing efficiency improvements throughout its first year, Feeding
Northeast Florida (FNEFL) reported
this month that it has distributed 17.8
million pounds of food to 176 member
food pantries in 17 counties over its
first 12 months — representing 14.8
million meals.
Since beginning operations as an
affiliate food bank of Feeding America
in June 2014, FNEFL has sourced a
total of 18.7 million pounds of food
throughout the region.
The community service/food distribution organization has also shown
steady increases in the pounds of
food moved into the community in
each quarter of operations — from
3.1 million pounds the third quarter of
2014 to 4.5 million pounds during the
second quarter of 2015.
“We’re very pleased with the results
the management and staff at Feeding Northeast Florida have been able
to achieve in a relatively short period
of time,” said FNEFL Board Chairman
Chuck Wyckoff. “During a tour of our
distribution facility, representatives
from Feeding America gave our food
bank very high marks for the costeffective and efficient food distribution
network it has created in our region.”
By building its business model
based on those facing hunger back to
the food distribution network, FNEFL
President and CEO Bruce Ganger says
the logistical operation is focused on
distributing the food rather than warehousing it.
As part of that focus, FNEFL has
established satellite distribution centers
at larger food pantries in Nassau, St.
Johns and Duval counties — training
their staffs on food safety so they can
take direct delivery of rescued food
from grocery partners. More satellite
centers are planned for Putnam, Clay
and Bradford counties in 2015 — including the Beaches Community Food
Bank, which will be housed at 7North
center in Jacksonville Beach being
spearheaded by Beach Church.
FNEFL has also established fourto-five large-scale food distribution
events in the community each week,
along with its ‘SnackPack Wednesdays’
program for students at eight Duval
County Public Schools to help address
child hunger in the area. Along with
EdlerSource and other community
groups, FNEFL also began targeting
seniors who face food insecurity — a
difficult-to-reach segment of the population.
Overall, it’s estimated that one-in-six
people in 17 northeast Florida counties are food insecure, with one-in-four
18 years old or younger. Also, nearly
half of those who face hunger are part
of working families who have trouble
making ends meet.
“We couldn’t have made these accomplishments in our first year without
the strong support from volunteers,
donors and our grocery partners,”
Ganger said. “With the community’s
continued volunteer and financial support, I know we can eliminate hunger
in Northeast Florida. There’s enough
rescued food to do it now…it’s just
a question of moving the food from
where it is to those families who need
it.”
Based on a study conducted by
Feeding America in 2014, about
322,000 people in 17 Northeast Florida
counties rely on the FNEFL food distribution network to supplement their individual and family food needs. FNEFL
estimates that 40 million pounds of rescued food would need to be sourced,
inspected and distributed through their
network to reach all the food insecure
families in Northeast Florida.
“There’s no question there’s enough
food out there to solve this problem,”
Ganger said. “It’s a question of distribution. If the community can support
us, with contributions and through
volunteer efforts, to the point that we
can double the amount of food we
can rescue, sort and distribute out to
the people who need it, we can really
solve this problem.
To donate, volunteer or find out
more about eliminating hunger in
Northeast Florida, visit www.feedingnefl.org or contact 904-513-1333.