Hunger Relief Monthly Update
March 2022
Every month United Way of Palm Beach County (UWPBC)'s Hunger Relief Initiative provides you with the latest news about Hunger Relief in Palm Beach County. Information is current as of March 18, 2022. Check out what's new and learn about ongoing work below.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Hunger Relief Initiative Seeking Letters of Interest
to Expand Food System Capacity

United Way of Palm Beach County’s (UWPBC) Hunger Relief Initiative is planning to expand the hunger relief system capacity. Funds will specifically be directed for use to enhance food bank storage and commercial kitchen capacity and add a produce processing facility. The goal is to increase the volume of nutritious food available throughout the hunger relief system in Palm Beach County. 
 
UWPBC is requesting letters of interest from eligible Palm Beach County food bank organizations interested in partnering with UWPBC for this strategy. Please click here to see the list of eligibility criteria and additional information.

Interested food bank organizations must submit a letter of interest by 12:00 p.m. (noon), Friday, March 25, 2022 to hungerrelief@unitedwaypbc.org. Please include information for your organization’s contact person and call us at 561-375-6628 or 561-375- 6633 to confirm that UWPBC has received your letter of interest.
NEW FOR MARCH
  • Birth to 22 Community Conversations: Birth to 22 wants to hear from you! Three more Community Conversations will be held over March and April with breakout sessions around health and wellness, social emotional learning, economic access and others. Birth to 22 encourages community members, and especially youth, to participate and share their voice and their needs. Youth can also receive community service hours for participating. To learn more click here and to register click here.

  • Safety Net Advocacy Coalition (SNAC) Recommendations to DCF: Do you experience roadblocks when helping community members apply for SNAP? Do you have recommendations for the Department of Children and Families (DCF) that would make it easier for partners to assist applicants?  Register here to join SNAC on Thursday, March 31, for a strategy session to share your suggestions; no idea is too small! If you cannot attend but have recommendations please email Amber Nixon. 

  • UF/IFAS Food Recovery Network Info Session: UF/IFAS Extension Family Nutrition Program is hosting an information session about their available resources and supports for pantries and other food recovery partners on April 7th. To learn more about the information session click here. Please register to attend by March 31st by clicking here.

  • Florida Homeowner Assistance Fund: The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has launched the next phase of the Homeowner Assistance Fund program, a registration portal for homeowners to determine their eligibility to receive assistance with mortgages, utilities, and insurance. Homeowners can submit an application here to determine their eligibility for assistance.

  • Become an ALZ Star: Do you know the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer's? The Florida Department of Elder Affairs and the Alzheimer's Association have partnered to create the ALZ STARS program, a joint initiative to bring increased awareness of dementia and the resources available to Floridians. Click here to sign up for the program and get social media marketing materials through the Alzheimer's Association toolkit here.
GENERAL HUNGER RELIEF

  • Food Solutions New England (FSNE) 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge: FSNE is offering their 21-day racial equity challenge for free to anyone who is interested in participating. The challenge is designed to raise your awareness, provide opportunities for learning, and change your understanding about racism in the food system through daily prompts, videos, and discussions over 21 days. To sign up for the 2022 challenge and view past challenge materials please click here. If you are interested in participating in a countywide reflection group, please email Joanna Peluso or contact her by phone at 732-948-1883.

  • Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap: Food insecurity projections for Palm Beach County show that Palm Beach County food insecurity numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels and slightly lower. Feeding America is awaiting the release of final Census data to update the Map the Meal Gap data to final numbers for 2020. UWPBC expects the updates in late spring or early summer.
  • Food Finder Map: The Food Finder Map is an interactive tool developed by UWPBC Hunger Relief to help people seeking food resources easily connect to sites near them. Information is in English, Spanish, and Creole. UWPBC updates the information listed on this map weekly, however, locations and hours of distribution may change. Please consider calling the site prior to visiting to verify information listed and to ask about specific requirements such as ID. To add or update information on the map please email us. As of March 14th, there were over 147,000 views of the map.

  • Hunger Relief Department: Hunger Relief staff continue partnering with community partners within and outside our network to address short term, midterm, and long-term hunger needs of the Palm Beach County communities. Hunger Relief staff are in the process of developing a five-year plan with prioritized projects for our transformation MacKenzie Scott gift and integrating the projects into our Hunger Relief Plan goals and framework. UWPBC continues to seek matching dollars for MacKenzie Scott funds to amplify our impact. 
CHILDREN & FAMILIES
  • Summer Camp Scholarships: Summer is coming up quick and it's time to start thinking about camp! Children's Services Council of Palm Beach County and Palm Beach County Youth Services provide funding for thousands of summer camp scholarships that cover all fees at 100+ summer camps across Palm Beach County. To learn more about eligibility and how to apply click here. Applications close on April 15, 2022.

  • The School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC): Breakfast and lunch meals are FREE to ALL SDPBC students every school day in 2021-2022! SDPBC served over 3.6 million meals in February 2022.

  • Basics4Babies: Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (HMHB)'s Basics4Babies emergency pantry has gone mobile! The pantry provides diapers, formula, and baby food for babies from birth through 12 months. For a list of mobile locations, office locations, and eligibility, please visit HMHB's website or check out their flyer.

  • WIC Outreach: The 0-4 Subcommittee is working with partners to promote WIC! A new video, “What is WIC?” is available on UWPBC's YouTube and WIC palm cards in English, Spanish, and Creole are available to distribute to families. If you are interested in receiving palm cards, please email us. 

  • Weekend Backpack Programs: More than 59 locations received weekend backpacks during the 2020-2021 school year, serving 6,359 children for an average of 25 weeks. These numbers also include children and their families served through the Family Weekend Backpack Program (FWBP). UWPBC has received grants from the Jim Moran Foundation and the Batchelor Foundation in support of FWBP which serves both the children receiving the backpacks and their families.

  • Year-Round Meal Program: UWPBC Hunger Relief received a grant from The Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation in support of year-round meals. FLIPANY has onboarded three sites in the Afterschool Meals program – the City of Greenacres Community Center, The Duo Center, and Urban Youth Impact. In February 2022 over 3,700 meals were served at the three sites.  
SENIORS
  • Senior Meals: The Area Agency on Aging (AAA) and its partners served over 37,500 home-delivered or congregate meals in February 2022. Cumulative meals served by AAA and their partners are shown in the bar graph below. Seniors who need food should contact the Elder Helpline at 866-684-5885 or they can call 211 who will direct them.
  • Meals on Wheels of the Palm Beaches, Inc. (MOWPB): MOWPB serves hot meals three days/week and fresh frozen meals on the remaining days. MOWPB has been serving 2,500 meals a week to 300 people. MOWPB serves individuals aged 65 and over who are home-bound due to age, infirmity, or debilitating illness and are unable to food shop and prepare nutritious meals. Their clients are either living alone, or with their spouse/partner who may also be home bound or who may be the fulltime caregiver. To set up service please call (561) 802-6979, extension 6.

  • Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office (PBSO): PBSO has a program to assist our Palm Beach County elderly residents who are unable to leave their homes to go to the grocery store or the pharmacy. PBSO volunteers are ready to deliver orders directly to their doors. This program is available ONLY in areas where PBSO has jurisdiction. For more information, please visit PBSO's website.
SNAP OUTREACH & ADVOCACY
  • Apply for SNAP Benefits: DCF’s Statewide Customer Call Center (850-300-4323) is available for customer questions and application assistance, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon; and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The fastest way to get information and apply for benefits is online. Customers can report changes, upload documents, and check the status of their application and benefits through their MyACCESS Self-Service Portal. For a complete list of eligibility requirements for SNAP visit DCF's website.

  • Apply for SNAP Benefits through Palm Beach County Food Bank (PBCFB): PBCFB works with a network of community partners to help individuals, families, and seniors apply for SNAP benefits. PBCFB’s Benefits Specialists speak English, Spanish, Creole, and Q’anjob’al (a Mayan dialect spoken by many of Palm Beach County’s Guatemalan immigrant residents). The calendar of times and locations for appointments, and lists with the documents needed for appointments can be found on the Food Bank’s website.

  • Maximum Monthly Allotment & Changes to SNAP Household Monthly Benefits: Starting October 1, 2021, SNAP benefits were automatically increased by as a result of a change to the 'Thrifty Food Plan'. Visit DCF's website for more specific information on this increase. For a look at SNAP changes over the past year and a half, check out our graphic below.
  • SNAP Online Purchasing: SNAP recipients may purchase groceries online with the use of an EBT card. They are automatically eligible to participate in this program and do not need to apply. As of May 2021, participating retailers include Walmart, Amazon, ALDI, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Publix. For more information on the online purchasing pilot, please refer to the Online Purchasing Pilot FAQs.

  • Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) Advocacy: Thanks to collective advocacy efforts, the State of Florida requested more than $1 billion in Summer P-EBT benefits for 2.6 million kids. P-EBT benefits are expected to be disbursed beginning November 24, 2021, with staggered disbursement through early 2022. For more information visit DCF's website about P-EBT or call their dedicated P-EBT line at 1-833-311-0321.
INFRASTRUCTURE
  • Delray Beach GreenMarket Accepting SNAP: The Delray Beach GreenMarket is now accepting SNAP! The GreenMarket will have $1 or $5 tokens that work like cash at certain GreenMarket vendors. For more information on vendors accepting SNAP, and other GreenMarket details, please click here.

  • Pantry Project: UWPBC Hunger Relief staff continues to hold follow-up meetings, organized by Palm Beach County’s designated Emergency Operations Areas (EOAs), to regularly convene the pantries and develop communication and coordination strategies among pantries and identify ways to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and increase capacity. If you're a pantry interested in attending these meetings, please email us.

  • Improving Resource & Referral Needs: UWPBC Hunger Relief, Palm Beach County, and 211 are currently meeting and working on coordination necessary for a shared data source to store food distribution site data and other social service resources for most accurate and up-to-date information.                                    

  • Healthy Corner Stores Initiative: The Hunger Relief Department continues to work with Sam’s Food Store in Canal Point. Sam’s offers fresh produce and fresh, ready-to-eat options like salads and healthy wraps to its customers. As funding for this initiative winds down, Hunger Relief staff will continue to work with Sam's and monitor the initiative's progress.

  • Farmers Helping Families: Hunger Relief is working with United Farmers Alliance (UFA) Farmers Helping Families, a group of Palm Beach County farmers, working on solutions to get product from the farms to the at-risk communities in Palm Beach County. UFA is working with FDACS and helping farmers register on myflorida.com so their products can be sold to FDACS and other entities. UFA is also partnering with Feed the Hungry, Boca Helping Hands, Feeding Palm Beach County (Feeding South Florida) and Palm Beach Harvest, and others to help get food into our community. UFA/Farmers Helping Families is approved to accept SNAP/EBT and Fresh Access Bucks.

  • Farm Donations: There is much information on what the farmers in the Glades have been contributing to the County, School District of Palm Beach County, and food banks (Feeding South Florida, Palm Beach County Food Bank, etc.) for distribution. Their information is available on their social media and EAA Farmers information. Florida Crystals continues to donate rice and sugar to local organizations. The recent freeze has effected locally-grown fresh food donations.

  • The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP): Beginning October 1, 2021, Farm Share became the administrator of the TEFAP contract, under Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and USDA. Palm Beach County is now categorized as its own region, Region 17. Supply chain issues resulted in a slower start to available TEFAP food in Palm Beach County than expected, but the amount of available TEFAP food is increasing. Farm Share is working hard to balance TEFAP volume, variety, and fresh produce with available TEFAP funding. 
We couldn't do this work without you!

The Hunger Relief Team is so appreciative of everything you do for our community. Please feel free to reach out to us anytime by calling us at 561-375-6600 or emailing us.
Stay Connected!