Food giveaway meets needs of many
Therewasbabyfood, low-caloric vegetarian meals, organic grains, stacks of pizza, cookies and cake and fruits and vegetables, and a long line of people waiting to stock their carts.
Some of the leafy vegetables in cardboard boxes wilted under the hot sun Saturday morning but most of the donated food was fine and will fill the cupboards and refrigerators of dozens of needy families who turned out for the food giveaway in Deerfield Beach.
“We appreciate it. These kids won’t be hungry,” said Shell Stanley, 29, of Deerfield Beach, a mother of four. She was first in line, having set out a chair as a space saver hours earlier. About 100people linedupbehind Stanley on the sidewalk.
The Wayne Barton Study Center’s Good News of Christ Ministries has collaborated with the Broward Sheriff’s Office and other churches for the past three years to bring food to families that may otherwise go hungry. Thistimetheysetupintheparking lot of the Clayton and Nesa RoomingHouse at 249 SWFirst Terrace.
The food is delivered to the community in trucks and placed on fold-out tables. The events are announced in churches and other community gathering places. A recent grocery giveaway in Fort Lauderdale drew about 6,000 people.
The recipientswere only limited by what they could fit in their shopping baskets. There was plenty of food for everyone —100,000pounds. Families usually haul awayaboutsixweeks of food, organizers say. Cheney Brothers, a wholesale food distributor based in Riviera Beach, contributes most of the food.
“This is not a handout, but a hand up,” Wayne Barton said. His study center provides young students with meals and then college scholarships. ForBarton, a retired Boca Raton policeman, the grocery giveaways are more than an event to fill cupboards, it’s a way for police to connect with residents.
“If you don’t establish rapport with one another, you’re just strangers,” he said. “Our urban community is hurting so bad. So many of our children are struggling. One out of five children in the urban community are going to bed hungry.”
bballou@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4188