PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Volunteers at a local food kitchen can’t keep up with the requests coming in from families and seniors right now.
“The need has grown,” said Chani Ezagui, the director of Kind Kitchen. “We have a 122 families or households on the waiting list for food and we’re all donation based, so as the donations come in, we put on more people on the list for service.”
Right now, 600 households throughout Palm Beach County are receiving free meal service through the Kind Kitchen. The charity has been operating since 1987 and serves all of Palm Beach County from Tequesta to Delray Beach.
Ezagui said never in the history of the food bank has there been a waitlist this long.
“We’ve never had that before,” Ezagui said. “We’ve never had 122 households on the waiting list for food. There are a lot of people struggling with money and they’re just not making it”
It’s an all-volunteer army that shows up each week to cook and pack the meals. Then, a second crew delivers the meals on Friday morning.
Judith Lerner is a homebound senior in Delray Beach. She said the food is a lifeline.
“Money is scarce you know. It goes one two three,” Lerner said. “The extra assistance helps a lot and with medication and everything it helps a lot. I don’t drive, I’m not well, so I appreciate everything I get so I can just have a meal. It means that people care about me.”
The food delivery, has fruits and vegetables and prepared dinners. It will feed Lerner for almost a week.
