Sep 17, 2008 12:56 pm US/Eastern
One In Six Residents In Broward Will Go Hungry
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
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The Field Of Food Campaign is to create a food collection process to ensure that no Broward County resident goes hungry
CBS
In an alarming trend, South Florida food pantries explain it's getting more difficult to
collect and stock enough food to distribute to the increased numbers of needy in Broward County. Hard economic times, along with the high cost of the gasoline that these working poor must pay so they may travel to work is robbing their budgets for food.
Mary Macomber of Million Meals Committee told CBS4 Reporter Marybel Rodriguez, "We have people with whole families who never thought they would be coming for a hand-out."
Nonprofit organizations, along with corporate partners, on Wednesday gathered at the Lockhart Stadium to announce an extraordinary and historic countywide effort to collect and distribute one million pounds of food to pantries serving the county's needy.
Volunteer Broward, the CCB/CSC Million Meals Committee and the Broward County School Board will officially launch Field of Food.
The Field of Food campaign will end on Saturday, October 18, when hundreds of volunteers will convene at Lockhart stadium to sort, package and distribute the collected food.
On hand to kick-off the effort today was Florida State Sen. Nan Rich and Florida House Rep. Ari Porth, cosponsors of the Florida Restaurant Lending a Helping Hand Act. The bill was the brainchild of 11-year-old Jack Davis, of Coral Gables, and it allows restaurants to distribute leftover food to pantries in need with no liability constraints.
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