Bags of frozen meats, canned food and cartons of milk were given to needy Alachua County residents Monday at the Salvation Army of Gainesville on West University Avenue.
The distribution was organized by Nourishment Network, a North Florida-based food bank that serves nonprofit agencies in 17 counties in the state.
Nourishment Network is holding a series of events in an attempt to provide 4.5 million pounds of free food to about 18,000 needy families. The single-day events started in July and will be completed by the end of this month.
Chris Hughes, a U.S. Department of Agriculture program manager at the food bank, said they received 30 to 40 thousand pounds of food to distribute at the local event. The program intended for each household to take home 50 to 100 pounds.
Salvation Army Corps Officer Lt. Preston Lewis said the Salvation Army and Nourishment Network hoped to help 500 people, and they far exceeded that goal. Residents were lined up at 7 a.m. — three hours before the distribution started — and he had to cut the line off before noon.
Emma Holt, who has volunteered with Nourishment Network for the past 14 years, said the event was originally planned to serve a smaller number of people.
“At first we were going to do 200 people, then 400 and then 500,” Holt said. “We could’ve brought food for 1,000, but we don’t have the volunteers.”
Gainesville resident Joyce Johnson volunteered at the event with her fiance. It was her first time volunteering with Nourishment Network and the Salvation Army.
“There are so many people struggling that can’t make ends meet at the end of the month, and this is such a blessing for them,” she said.
Even if not everyone says ‘thank you,’ she said the appreciation of the community is reflected in turnout numbers.
“This should wake people up,” she said. “Just because people aren’t sleeping on the streets doesn’t mean they don’t need help.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 9/23/2014 under the headline "Food drive enjoys local success"]
