JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Putting food on the table is not always an easy task, especially for those grappling with financial hardship due to COVID-19. Farm Share, a Florida non-profit dedicated to feeding people, has seen need for its services skyrocket.
Under hazy skies Saturday morning, Farm Share staff and volunteers laid out yet another food drive set up as cars began to line up. The organization has been giving out an unprecedent amount of food in recent months.
"It's quite remarkable to see how much the need is out there for something as simple as putting food on the table," said Wendy Freedman, Director of Donor Relations for the non-profit.
Since early March, Farm Share has given out more than 30 million pounds of food, about four to five times the amount expected in a similar time frame, Freedman said.
"It's humbling knowing that you're putting food on people's tables at the end of the day," she said. "You have mothers coming in and getting boxes of food, and the tears in their eyes being able to know that they're able to feed their kids this evening."
The food drive, held at Pearl Plaza in the Panama Park area of Jacksonville, started off with cars lining the side of Pearl St. Recipients drove up throughout the morning, their cars being loaded with everything from fresh produce to snacks to bags of toiletries.
Local law enforcement officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol were on deck, along with former professional athletes like Roy Miller of the Jaguars and Joel Davis of the White Sox.
"Every week you watch the U.S. Labor Department come out with these numbers of people filing for unemployment. Those people are wondering where their next meal is going to come from," Miller said. "I think that something like this is definitely what the community needs."
Farm Share's next food drive in Jacksonville will be held on Tuesday, June 30 at the Kooker Park parking lot, hosted by Grace Baptist Church of East Springfield from 9 a.m. to noon.
