‘A REAL BLESSING’

Oceans 234 partners with Feed the Need to serve free meals to students, families

Under a sweaty 88 degrees, a line of cars with air conditioning on full blast circled through the parking lot of Orange Brook Elementary School in Hollywood. One by one, the drivers pulled up to the white, fruit-covered folding table, called out the number of students and adults in their household, and collected their meals for the week.

Students have been learning remotely since March due to the coronavirus, but every Wednesday, families eligible for free lunch have stopped by to pick up donated food from Feed the Need Florida, a nonprofit group working with the Florida Department of Agriculture to provide healthy meals to students and their parents throughout the pandemic.

Oceans 234 in Deerfield Beach is one of Feed the Need Florida’s 850 partners. Owned by Danielle Rosse, the oceanfront restaurant switched gears to prep and distribute the replacement school meals after Gov. Ron DeSantis prohibited dining in.

“We had all these restaurants that were empty but had the manpower and the where-withall to produce these meals‚” Rosse said. “I think it’s been a real blessing to some families.”

As part of Feed the Need Florida, which has served over 500,000 meals statewide, Rosse’s employees prepare and distribute 1,586 packages of food a week for Orange Brook Elementary, Pines

Lake Elementary and Driftwood Elementary, according to Amanda Ellis, director of events for Oceans 234.

“The overwhelming kindness from the families and the teachers at the schools has been so rewarding,” Ellis said while tallying apples at Orange Brook. “I think this shows people that there are people out there who care about them and want to make sure their basic needs are met during this time.” What do families get? Breakfasts and lunches are provided for weekdays, as well as weekends when possible. The meals follow nutrition guidelines from the Agriculture Department and contain milk, grain, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and a sandwich.

“It’s really something when you give a car a whole watermelon and the kids’ faces in the backseat light up,” said John Rivers, chief executive officer of Feed the Need Florida.

Rivers, 54, said the food is provided by donations or sourced by the organization. Government grants and school district contracts reimburse the nonprofit for the cost of students’ meals and labor, while the adult meals rely on the group’s donations.

“I don’t see an end to this anytime soon,” Rivers said. “A lot of the people that we’re feeding, they were hungry before COVID-19, and they’re going to be

hungry after. It’s sad that it took a pandemic to bring the community together, but I’m grateful it did.”

Even though restaurants have reopened, including Rosse’s, she said Oceans 234 would continue working with Feed the Need and the Broward County School District through the summer.

“It’s been a blessing to have,” Rosse said.

“For us, it was keeping our employees with jobs, and naturally, anytime you can do something for the community, that’s a beautiful thing.”

AMY BETH BENNETT/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL Victor Vasquez packages chicken nuggets on Wednesday at Oceans 234 restaurant in Deerfield Beach. The packages will be part of lunches distributed to students and their families at three schools in Hollywood.

MIKE STOCKER/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL School security officer Cedric Golden on Wednesday assists Oceans 234 in distributing free meals to schoolchildren and their families at Orange Brook Elementary School in Hollywood.