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Feeding South Florida Celebrates Hunger Action Month


Feeding South Florida®, the leading domestic hunger-relief organization in South Florida, successfully accommodated a 600% increase in demand, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, during its 2019–2020 fiscal year (July 2019–June 2020). Now, the organization is celebrating its new fiscal year and 40th anniversary with exciting activities for Hunger Action Month, a nationwide initiative created by Feeding America®. Hunger Action Month takes place throughout September and is designed to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in America. This year’s theme is “End Hunger One Helping at a Time.”

“There is much to celebrate, while there is much to accomplish to end hunger in South Florida,” said Paco Vélez, president and CEO of Feeding South Florida. “We are proud to have served the South Florida community for 40 years, and look forward to continuing to serve those facing food insecurity during Hunger Action Month, the COVID-19 pandemic, and into the future.”

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 1.4 million neighbors throughout Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties are experiencing food insecurity. Feeding South Florida immediately mobilized to serve these individuals, ending the fiscal year with 119.2 million pounds of food distributed (99.3 million meals) in the quad-county areas.

For its new 2020–2021 fiscal year plan, Feeding South Florida will:

  • Raise the minimum wage within the organization to $15 per hour by the end of June 2021. This is substantially more than the increase in Florida's minimum wage, which will be raised to $10 an hour on Sept. 30, 2021.

  • Currently, for every $1 donated, Feeding South Florida provides nine meals to those in need. Last fiscal year it was seven meals for every $1.

These actions would not be possible without the help of Feeding South Florida’s partners, including Publix Super Markets Charities, which recently donated $5 million to Feeding America. Of that amount, Feeding America is allocating $300,000 to Feeding South Florida for COVID-19 pandemic relief efforts and Hunger Action Month. Publix Super Markets Charities also donated 1,443,316 pounds of produce and 106,920 gallons of milk to Feeding South Florida to-date.

During Hunger Action Month, South Floridians can support hunger relief in many ways. Feeding South Florida’s 30 Ways in 30 Days calendar of events is available online. For more information about how to get involved, visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org or call 954.518.1818.

Hunger Action Month initiatives include:


· Start a virtual food drive: In celebration of Feeding South Florida’s 40th anniversary, help raise $40,000 during Hunger Action Month’s "GO ORANGE" online virtual food drive. Visit www.firstgiving.com/event/FEEDINGSOUTHFLORIDA/HungerActionMonth to learn more.


· Participate in the virtual 10th Annual Outrun Hunger 5K on Saturday, Sept. 26: Participants can raise funds for Feeding South Florida by running or walking their favorite 5K route, take photos and use the hashtag #FeedingSouthFlorida to be featured on Feeding South Florida’s social media channels. To register, visit outrunhunger.eventbrite.com. For information about sponsorship opportunities, mfernandez@feedingsouthflorida.org or 954.518.1818 x 1863.


· Volunteer during Rock the Orange Week of Service: Practice social distancing while volunteering at one of Feeding South Florida’s warehouses on Sept. 11 and/or 12. Register at volunteer.feedingsouthflorida.org.


· 30 Ways in 30 Days: Anyone can print the calendar featuring daily ways to end hunger, and post it on their refrigerator or bring to the office to share with others. Post + tag @Feedingsouthflorida on social media.


· Go Orange! Register an individual or company's #GoOrange activity at www.jotform.com/FeedingSouthFlorida/HAM. Individuals can host an orange bake sale, government and municipalities can issue a proclamation for Hunger Action Month, hotels can welcome guests with an in-room display that showcases Hunger Action Month, schools can develop students’ skills by creating a project to promote hunger awareness, and much more!


· Take the Snap Challenge: Eat for the day on a food stamp budget ($4.50/day or $31.50/week).


· Help spread the word: Download the Hunger Action Month Tool Kit at https://feedingsouthflorida.org/hunger-action-month/ to find out how.

For more information about how Feeding South Florida is participating in Hunger Action Month and how to be a part of the effort to end hunger in South Florida, visit https://feedingsouthflorida.org/hunger-action-month/.

Feeding South Florida’s food distributions are updated daily and available at

To find out how you can help, learn about what Feeding South Florida is doing, safety precautions, and much more, visit https://feedingsouthflorida.org/covid19/.


By ML Staff. Image courtesy of Feeding South Florida

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