The table and pantries of hundreds of families in Duval County will not be empty this Thanksgiving. With the table being set by Farm Share, a local non-profit charitable packinghouse whose mission is to feed Florida’s families, those in need will receive fruit, vegetables, meats, canned goods and sundries through a local distribution at Florida State College of Jacksonville yesterday Saturday, November 17th from 9AM until noon.
Joining this effort is Duval First Responders who will assist in the distribution of thousands of pounds of food to an anticipated thousand families. This was a first come, first served event while supplies lasted.
Sponsors, volunteers and partners included: Jacksonville Police, Wellcare Health Plans, Jacksonville Fire & Rescue Department, Florida State College at Jacksonville, State of Florida Highway Patrol, Atlantic Self Storage, NALC, FedEx, Florida dbpr, United Way, David Weekley Homes, Stanley Security, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Momentum, Junior’s Seafood, Merrill Lynch and Farm Share’s partnering agencies and volunteers who will helped bag, process and distributed the donated food directly to the individuals and families.
Special guests included former NFL player, Laveranues Coles and Jacksonville Jaguar’s own, Paul Posluszny (retired)
“Farm Share was humbled by the generosity of the many volunteers and sponsors who  donated their free time to help us feed more hungry families, children, seniors and individuals in need,” stated Stephen R. Shelley, Farm Share’s Chief Operating Officer, “We appreciate the continued partnership of our local farmers and other donors who provide us with healthy and nutritious produce and other food that enable us to hold such a large scale event and to those throughout the state of Florida who continue to support us in feeding Florida families.”
Farm Share provided over 55 million pounds of food to over 17.6 million households during 2017; up from 2016’s efforts of 40.4 million pounds. As hunger increases with a reported 14.7% of Floridians and 20.7% of its children living below the poverty line, Florida ranked 20th in food insecure households in 2017, where those in need experienced difficulty providing enough food due to a lack of money or other resources at least once during the calendar year.
Farm Share, Inc. 14125 SW 320 Street, Homestead, FL 33033 I 305.246.3746 www.farmshare.org.