On Friday, Oct. 21, nearly 100 Palm Beach County community leaders and local officials, and Feeding South Florida® board members were part of the invitation-only Grand Opening Harvest Celebration of Feeding South Florida’s new branch location, Feeding Palm Beach County®, located at 4925 Park Ridge Blvd., Boynton Beach, 33426. Feeding South Florida is the leading domestic hunger-relief organization in the South Florida region.

Attendees toured the Feeding Palm Beach County facility, learned about plans for the new branch location, and met Feeding South Florida team members, as well as the organization’s donors, volunteers, and community supporters. The event was sponsored by Events on the Loose, E. & J. Gallo Winery, Texas Roadhouse, Copperpoint Brewing Company, Pumphouse Coffee Roasters, Publix, and Bailey’s Blendz.

The 25,644-square-foot warehouse is not only designed to handle the emergency food distribution needs of the county; it’s also a community hub designed to provide resources and training critical to breaking the cycle of hunger and poverty.

“We are very pleased to open our new Feeding Palm Beach County branch,” said Feeding South Florida President and CEO Paco Vélez. “This new facility will help Feeding South Florida make a bigger impact on the lives of Palm Beach County residents facing food insecurity and poverty.”

For the past 25 years, Feeding South Florida occupied the former Cheney Brothers, Inc. facility in West Palm Beach. However, in nearly doubling its output of food to Palm Beach County from 5 million meals (6 million pounds) in 2012 to more than 9.1 million meals (11 million pounds) in 2015, the organization needed a space that could handle the increased volume of food and grocery products. It also required a space for a resource center and innovative programming for Feeding Palm Beach County’s more than 100 nonprofit partner agencies and those they serve: 199,460 individuals, including 60,340 children.

In addition, Feeding Palm Beach County will provide volunteer opportunities; a Community Kitchen™; innovative programming including a client choice pantry, nutrition education, job creation, financial literacy, and family dining; benefits assistance (SNAP, TANF, Florida KidCare), and computer skills training. Feeding Palm Beach County will add eight new jobs by its second year of operation, as well as provide the opportunity for more than 200 individuals to learn culinary skills to gain employment.

About Feeding South Florida®

Feeding South Florida’s mission is to end hunger in South Florida by providing immediate access to nutritious food, leading hunger and poverty advocacy efforts, and transforming lives through innovative programming and education. Feeding South Florida® is the sole Feeding America® food bank in South Florida, and the leading domestic hunger-relief organization in the region, serving 25 percent of the state’s food insecure population. Through a local network of more than 400 nonprofit partner agencies, Feeding South Florida rescues 44 million pounds of food annually, serving 784,110 individuals in need of food assistance, 264,280 of whom are children, and 130,000 are older adults, throughout Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. For more information, visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org or call 954.518.1818.

L to R: Harris Siskind, Board Chair; Boynton Beach Mayor, Steven Grant; Paco Velez, President & CEO

L to R: Harris Siskind, Board Chair; Boynton Beach Mayor, Steven Grant; Paco Velez, President & CEO

L to R: Diana Daddario, ADT and Danielle Rosenberg, ADT

L to R: Mayor of Boynton Beach, Steven Grant; Denise Hatton, R.C. Hatton Farms; and Paco Velez, President & CEO

Bank of America team From L to R:

Juan Perez, SVP, Financial Center Region Executive
Stephanie Glavin, VP, Palm Beach County Market Manager
Lilia Ciciolla, VP, Broward County Project Manager
Nikki Morley, AVP, Palm Beach County Project Manager
Maria Auger, AVP, Commercial Support Specialist
Henry Del Campo, VP, Commercial Banking Relationship Manager

L to R: Mr. and Mrs. Eric Sacks, Subway

L to R: Paco Velez, President & CEO; Harris Siskind, Board Chair; Carolyn Bolton, Board Member, Henry Del Campo, Board Member.