Photo: Feeding Florida
Feeding Florida, a statewide network of food banks, is requesting $10 million from the Legislature. Last year, the organization provided 404 million pounds of food to 2.2 million Floridians.
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2024 Legislature: ALICE in Florida
On the Table in Tallahassee
- THE PROBLEM
Food insecurity is defined as lacking access to sufficient food for a healthy, active lifestyle. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of food insecurity in Florida had been going down consistently — dropping from 16.2% in 2020 to 10.6% in 2020, according to the state Department of Health. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average Florida household spends $6,677 on food each year; the state has some of the highest food prices in the nation.
The state saw an uptick in food insecurity to 11.4% between 2020-2022, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, and amid inflation, Florida food banks say they’re feeding more people than ever. “Prior to COVID, we were an 18- or 20-million-pound food bank. Now we’re more like a 34-million-pound food bank,” says Michael Ledger, president and CEO of Feeding the Gulf Coast, which serves seven counties in the western Panhandle. Rising food costs also make it harder for food banks to fill the gaps. Before inflation took off, $1 million would buy 12.5 million pounds of food, says Stephen Shelley, the CEO of the Homestead-based non-profit Farm Share. Now, it buys 7.6 million pounds. Farm Share averages 100 million pounds of food distributed a year — around 83.3 million meals.
- 2023 LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Last year, the Legislature provided $6.5 million each to Feeding Florida and Farm Share, the state’s two biggest food bank groups, up from $5 million in recent years. Legislators devoted another $5 million to a pilot project to get more Florida-grown food to those in need. Between those appropriations and other smaller ones, “the Legislature invested a record amount on food insecurity,” says Stephen Shelley, Farm Share CEO. “We hope that trend continues.”
- THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Robin Safley, executive director of Feeding Florida, is asking the Legislature for $10 million this year. The group asked for the same amount last year and got the $6.5 million. She wants to expand its “Farmers Feeding Florida” program. That program sources produce, dairy and protein from the agriculture industry to distribute to people across Florida. “The clients that we serve have a higher incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, so we know how vital it is for us to provide as much fresh product as possible,” Safley says.
“The unemployment rate’s low, but that doesn’t mean it puts food on the table for families — 80% of the folks coming in here have at least one job.”
— Paco Velez, President and CEO of Feeding South Florida, which serves four counties.
“Five years ago, we didn’t have any pantries inside of schools. Today, we have 75 of them,” says Thomas Mantz, president and CEO of Feeding Tampa Bay, which serves more than 90 million meals a year through a network of food pantries in 10 counties. “There are often times when we are a family’s fourth week of the month. If a family is able to make it through three weeks on their regular income, organizations like ours fill that gap.”
