Palm Beach County has landed a hefty $1.5 million in federal funds to take a bite out of hunger, focusing on those who struggle daily to find their next meal. CBS12 reports that the cash infusion will bolster the operations of the Palm Beach County Food Bank and the Alpert Jewish Family Service, two nonprofits well-known for their food assistance programs.
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel (FL-22), the driving force behind the acquired funds, announced the news in the company of community heads including the Palm Beach County School Board and United Way of Palm Beach County according to CBS12, she said "It is an honor to give a helping hand to two organizations who reach out their helping hands every day with funding that will expand and promote their services, and that includes feeding food insecure families."
The bulk of the funding, $850,000, is going toward the creation of the Food Bank's new community kitchen, designed to dish out as many as 10,000 hot meals each day in a fight against food insecurity, in a community where, as per the U.S. Census Bureau, one in seven children go to bed hungry, Jamie Kendall, CEO of the Palm Beach County Food Bank explained the urgency of the operation to WPTV, remarking, "We are hopeful that we can get people in of all different levels and get them to where they need to be so that they're employable."
Meanwhile, the Alpert Jewish Family Service is set to renovate a space at Temple Shaarei Shalom that will house both a food pantry and mental health services, securing over $1 million from the funding to create a sanctuary for those in need, Dr. Elaine Rotenberg, the chief clinical and impact officer at the Albert Jewish Family Service, highlighted the growth of their initiative to WPTV, saying, "About a year ago this time we were on a monthly basis giving out approximately 30 bags of food a month and now every month we're giving out more than 150."
The community kitchen is slated for completion in the coming months with a culinary training program to follow by the fall, signaling a major step forward in Palm Beach County’s battle against the forces of hunger and poverty within its confines, with expectations set high for immediate impacts on the wellbeing of children and families facing food scarcity.
