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POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Feeding South Florida volunteers and deputies from the Broward Sheriff’s Office are distributing food across South Florida to try to help as many people as possible during the coronavirus pandemic.
The organization teamed up with the City of Opa-Locka to establish a drive-thru food distribution drive at Sherbondy Park, located at 380 Bahman Ave., on Tuesday.
Although the distribution of food began at 9 a.m., dozens of people in need waited in line ahead of time to make sure they were able to be one of the recipients.
Opa-Locka Police Chief James Dobson also volunteered with Feeding South Florida to hand out groceries to city residents.
“You have bell peppers, string beans, fish fillets [and] milk,” said Opa-Locka Mayor Matthew Pigatt. “This is a community in serious need. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about that, and we are here from the City of Opa-Locka, [we] just wanna make sure we are here for our community.”
The organization is aiming to help those who may have less hours at work, who have lost their jobs entirely or are just struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Volunteers were able to give out approximately 1,000 bags of groceries at the drive.
“I think it’s excellent,” said one recipient.
“Very beneficial,” said recipient Parla Mathis. “I’m so glad that they’re doing this because a lot of people really do need it.”
Some recipients are choosing to share their items with others.
“I’m taking mine home and sharing it with my neighbors,” said a recipient.
“We’re picking up stuff for our elderly neighbors, and we are just trying to do what we can because there’s some people who need it a lot more than others,” said recipient Oscar Ray.
The food distribution at Sherbondy Park will continue until supplies last.
Over in Pompano Beach, BSO teamed up with Feeding South Florida to help elderly residents in the community.
7News cameras captured employees bringing out boxes filled with grocery items and loading them into a van before heading out to make the deliveries.
They stopped by a community with residents over 55 years old for their Operation Helping Hands event and delivered the food items right to their front doors.
The boxes contained enough non-perishable food items to make 13 to 15 meals.
“As long as we continue to have a need from the community, seniors that we identified that need the services, we’re going to deliver to,” said BSO Capt. Renee Peterson. “Today we’re going to be making approximately 20 deliveries in the City of Pompano Beach, and throughout the week, we have other deliveries that are set up throughout the county.”
BSO officials said they will continue the delivery service as long as the food is available.
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