PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla.-- Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is backing a proposal to help feed the hungry in Florida.
Speaking to a group at Pero Family Farms in suburban Delray Beach, she’s asking state lawmakers to pass a bill at the upcoming legislative session creating a $500,000 grant food recovery program.
The money would be given to more non-profit organizations across the state who need help getting food out of the fields and into food banks to help those who are food insecure.
“300 million pounds of food that stays on the ground because we don’t have the revenue, the resources, the volunteer to get it off and all that food could go to hungry families all across our state," Fried said.
The goal is to model it like Pero Family Farms which currently has a partnership with Feeding South Florida to make sure families who need fresh fruits and vegetables have the accessibility to them.
According to Fried, nearly 3 million Floridians face food insecurity, including 850,000 children and more than 40 percent of food produced in the U.S. goes uneaten.
