Coronavirus Update: Food Distribution Volunteers Provide Hope
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - At the Jack & Jill Children's Center in Fort Lauderdale, the drive-through food distribution run by the Salvation Army and Feeding South Florida ran like an assembly line.
The line was so long that police were needed to direct traffic.
In the line were South Floridians thrown into uncertainty and a world of food insecurity.
Alana Wortsman is the center's business development manager.
"Today...they're getting enough food to last them for about a week," said Wortsman.
The scene was just as overwhelming in Hialeah Gardens where Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz said the enormous demand prompted them to start handing out food two hours early.
Diaz says this effort led by Farm Share will happen every week to help people who are scrambling get something to eat.
"They're just trying to figure things out. So many people now don't have paychecks. So we are just trying to step up. We hope to keep doing this every week for as long as we can, to help people get through these very difficult circumstances at this time."
Meanwhile, in Overtown, Miami Heat legend Alonzo Mourning handed out meals at Gibson Park.
Some recipients pulled up on bicycles. All of them grateful that a basketball Hall of Famer cares about their well being.
The volunteers manning these distribution lines say they want to provide not only food, but also hope.
"It just shows them that there are people care about them," said Wortsman from the Jack & Jill center. "We want them to know that to leave feeling optimistic, and feeling good about all of the people who are here helping out today."
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