One sobering number for those concerned about hunger in Florida: as much as 40 percent of farm-produced food never makes it to supermarket shelves.
For a dozen years, state Sen. Jack Latvala has collaborated with Farm Share to ensure needy families throughout the Tampa Bay region receive some of that surplus food, direct from local farms, to prepare fresh, nutritious meals.
On Friday, November 21, Latvala joins volunteers of the the South Florida non-profit food bank to provide free produce to the public at three Pinellas County locations. Produce will be available at all three locations while supplies last.
The three county distributions are:
- 9:30 – 11 a.m.: Oldsmar CARES agency located at 163 State Road 580 West in Oldsmar
- 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Willa Carson Health and Wellness Center, 1108 N Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. in Clearwater
- 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.: Ridgecrest YMCA in Largo located at 1801 119th Street North
This is the 12th year the Clearwater Senator worked with the large-scale food bank and charitable packinghouse to help end food insecurity in Florida. Farm Share collects donated fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers for distribution to low-income families.
As a direct link between farms and families, Farm Share serves a wider range of impoverished areas without passing on costs to community agencies.
Last year, Farm Share provided nearly 26.5 million pounds of food to more than 1.5 million households across the state. With over 25,000 volunteer hours, the Homestead-based organization works with 500 community groups every day.
Every $10 donated to Farm Share buys 110 pounds of fresh food distributed to churches, homeless shelters, soup kitchens and communities in need.
For more information about the Farm Share program, visit www.farmshare.org.
