Rotary Clubs Partner To Create 100,000 Meals For Needy

February 24, 2013

Rotarians from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties joined together with Manna Food Pantries on  Saturday to fight hunger in Northwest Florida.

The Rotary Against Hunger service project involved 13 Rotary Clubs that committed financial support and volunteer participation to create over 16,000 food packets for those in need. The result was about 100,000 meals that the Combined Rotary of Pensacola (CROP) will donate to Manna for distribution to partner pantries in the two county area. The donation will benefit pantries that provide much needed food to those in need.

“Many of our neighbors are struggling to have enough food to eat, including thousands of children in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. The need continues to grow, with Manna providing food to  an average of 68 children a day,” said Manna Executive Director DeDe Flounlacker.

“We are so grateful to Rotary for continuing to support the needs of the hungry through this project. Last year, Manna provided the equivalent of  663,135 meals to 44,209 people. These are your neighbors and mine – folks who are the working poor, grandparents raising their grandchildren, moms and dads who do not have enough money to pay their bills and buy food. Thanks to Rotary, thousands of people will once again be helped this year through the gift of nutritious food,” she said.

Saturday marked the second year for the Rotary Against Hunger project and the second time in history that all Rotary clubs in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties have come together on one day to work on a service project. Last year, over 700 Rotary members and friends donated over 1,200 hours of time to pack the meals.

“The Combined Rotary Clubs of Pensacola are pleased to join with MANNA Food Pantries and work on this Second Annual volunteer project to help feed the hungry in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties,” said Buz Eddy, Rotary project chair. “Area Rotarians have raised over $25,000 for this project that will provide over 100,000 meals.”

Comments

One Response to “Rotary Clubs Partner To Create 100,000 Meals For Needy”

  1. hmm on February 25th, 2013 2:56 pm

    It’s refreshing to see people in this area willing to give back to the community. I have gone hungry, myself, & it’s a horrible feeling to go to bed hungry, with no hope for the next day. Some people have the attitude of..”I got mine, so forget you.”, but that’s not a good attitude because one day, you might be in the same boat.