NEWS RELEASE

The Treasure Coast Food Bank has received $65,000 from United Way of Indian River County to provide food to the community in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The money comes from many generous donors and foundations in the community who gave to the United Way of Indian River County’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund, said CEO Michael Kint. The grants are intended to address the economic impact on working families in the community who faced reduced hours and lost work because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We are extremely grateful to the United Way of Indian River County for providing these needed resources that enabled us to provide thousands of meals to the community,” said Judith Cruz, President and CEO of Treasure Coast Food Bank. “For many people seeking food, this is the first time in their lives that they’re in need. Our job is to provide for that need, and this donation from the United Way of Indian River County certainly helped to make it happen.”

Treasure Coast Food Bank has received four installments from the fund since late March when it was created in response to the state’s COVID-19 shut-down. Since that time, Treasure Coast Food Bank watched the need increase 200 percent across the region. Treasure Coast Food Bank has been serving more than 40,000 people per day with family boxes, fresh meat and dairy products, fresh produce from area farmers, and fresh-made soup prepared in Treasure Coast Food Bank’s food production kitchen.

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ABOUT TREASURE COAST FOOD BANK

Treasure Coast Food Bank is the only food bank and largest hunger relief organization on Florida’s Treasure Coast, providing the community each year with millions of meals valued at more than $50 million through robust programs and in partnership with 400 charitable organizations in Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, and Okeechobee counties. In addition to emergency food distribution, Treasure Coast Food Bank operates a full roster of direct service programs that not only solve the immediate problem of hunger, but help individuals and families gain long-term food security, better health outcomes, and self-sufficiency. Treasure Coast Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, the nationwide network of 200 food banks that leads the fight against hunger in the United States. For more information on Treasure Coast Food Bank, call 772.489.3034, log on to stophunger.org, visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/tcfoodbank, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/tcfoodbank.