Seeing Palm Beach in a New Light
Posted by Alice Pennington on Friday, July 9, 2010
When you think of Palm Beach, Florida, do you picture beaches, bright colorful mansions, and palm trees lining the streets? That’s certainly the stereotype I had about the area before I visited South Florida last week and experienced the reality faced by many Palm Beach County residents; a reality that includes poverty, hunger, and job losses in isolated and struggling rural communities.
On this leg of our summer meals tour, Katherine and I witnessed first-hand how the Partnership to End Childhood Hunger in Florida (a joint effort of Share Our Strength and Florida Impact) is increasing kids’ access to meals programs. We learned that in Palm Beach County - the largest county east of the Mississippi River - over 51% of kids are eligible for free/reduced price meals. It’s mind blowing to think that half of the county’s children are at risk of hunger!
Julie Kreafle from Florida Impact led us on an eye-opening tour of summer meals programs in an area called “The Glades” which is comprised of three small towns (Pahokee, Belle Glade, and South Bay) in the county’s northwest corner where most of the poverty is concentrated. When you drive west from the county’s eastern edge along the ocean, within only 20 minutes you find yourself on a two-lane highway surrounded by endless corn and sugar cane fields. The wealth and beaches suddenly seem worlds away.
In the last several years, tons of jobs in “The Glades” have been lost due to farms and businesses closing down. The unemployment rate is over 40%, and sadly, only 12% of the kids in the county who could be accessing summer meals programs receive them.
In response, Florida Impact and Share Our Strength have been leading an outreach campaign to increase utilization of the federal Summer Food Service Program. Florida Impact has distributed over 50,000 business cards and posters, they’ve secured signage at 12 local bus stops, and produced a PSA with NFL player Anquan Boldin to advertise the program.
This trip was a sobering reminder to never assume you know what a place is like until you have met its leaders, spent time with its children, walked around the landscape, and heard the community’s stories. I hope you will consider exploring a place that you think you already know. Look behind the scenes. You might be surprised at what you discover.
July 9, 2010 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: grantees, no kid hungry, summer meals
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