Feeding South Florida inspired more than 250 area residents to walk or run miles for meals to end hunger at its second annual Outrun Hunger Palm Beach County 5K Walk/Run on Saturday, Sept. 24 at Okeeheelee Park.
The support of all participating children, adults, corporations, religious groups and friends helped provide 32,760 meals for the 199,460 individuals struggling to put food on the table in Palm Beach County — 60,340 of whom are children and nearly 40,000 of whom are older adults.
In February, Feeding South Florida opened its 25,644-square-foot Palm Beach County branch at 4925 Park Ridge Blvd. in Boynton Beach, located off I-95 and Gateway Blvd., on two acres of land, in response to the growing needs of the Palm Beach County community.
Feeding Palm Beach County provides more than 11 million pounds of food each year to Palm Beach County alone, through direct service programs and a network of more than 100 nonprofit partner agencies throughout the county.
The Sept. 24 event began with a warm-up led by Chelsea Taylor of 103.1 WIRK’s “Tiny & Chelsea in the Morning,” followed by the run/walk at 7:30 a.m.
The race was professionally timed by Split Second Timing using disposable transponders to ensure accurate scoring and time results. Outrun Hunger Palm Beach County 5K sponsors include Source1 Purchasing, Jeffie’s Choice, the Legend Group, Gardens Presbyterian Church, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, 103.1 FM WIRK Country, Yelp Broward-Palm Beach, Raw Juce, Fit2Run Wellington, Fit2Run Boca Raton, Tri Bike Run, First Watch Café and Mike Sipe Entertainment.
“As we celebrate our 35th anniversary of service to the community, we could not be more honored and grateful for the strong showing of community support at this event,” Feeding South Florida President and CEO Paco Vélez said. “As the sole Feeding America food bank serving South Florida, Feeding South Florida is the largest and most efficient food bank in the area.
Feeding South Florida is a 4-star rated nonprofit by Charity Navigator, with a 98.7 percent efficiency rating, which measures fiscal soundness and transparency. The nonprofit is able to provide six meals, or $12 worth of grocery products, for every $1 donated.”
For more information, visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org.
ABOVE: Greatest Fundraiser/Largest Team went to Morgan Stanley. Shown are (L-R) Gigi Tylander, Robert McCabe Paco Velez of Feeding South Florida and Leslie Adams.
