Despite the near 100 degree temperatures on Friday, more than 1,000 Floridians stood for several hours in Miami to get a box full of free food, cbslocal.com reports.
The food give-away, which started at 9:00 a.m., ran run out of supplies just after 11:00 a.m.
According to cbs.com, a lot of those who stood in line were elderly Floridians, some overcome by the scorching sun and heat. There were also mothers with young children desperate for food to feed their kids.
Most people came away with a box of vegetables, chicken, juice and a gift card.
Meanwhile, the just-released Central Florida Faces of Hunger 2014 study, undertaken by Second Harvest Food Bank in partnership with Feeding America, found, Central Floridians sought food assistance more than 3.7 million times in 2013. Among those who turned toward feeding programs, 27 percent are children under the age of 18; 11 percent are seniors.
The Report notes, there was an increase in the number of Central Floridians who looked for food assistance in 2013, compared to 2012.
Two-thirds (67.5%) of Second Harvest’s partner agencies reported an increase in the number of clients over the past 12 months, than during the year before. More than half (51%) of the partner food agencies said, they didn’t have enough food to meet the needs of their clients.
And 38% of people who went to food agencies reported, they had been frequently or occasionally turned away because the agency had run out of food.
Other key findings from the Central Florida Faces of Hunger 2014 study:
- 46 percent are white
- 25 percent are African-American
- 18 percent are Latinos
- 60% of households have a household member who had worked in the last 12 months
- 74% of client households have incomes that fall at or below the Federal poverty level
- 70% of households had to choose between paying for food and paying rent/mortgage
- 73% of households reported having to choose between paying for food and utilities within the past 12 months
- 75% of all clients who received food assistance attained a high school degree or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED)
- 19% of households that turned to a food program for assistance include a past or current member of the U.S. Military.
To read the Central Florida Faces of Hunger 2014 study go HERE.
