SUNRISE, Fla. — To the naked eye, the red truck driven by the Homeless Voice could be mistaken as an ambulance.
However, that red truck has helped deliver over 600 meals a week to South Florida families in need.
WATCH: Homeless Voice delivers over 600 meals a week in South Florida
When you go to a sporting event, have you ever considered how much food from vendors goes unsold?
"We've rescued over 16,000 pounds of food," said John Colombo, Panthers Foundation vice president.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 1 million people in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties have experienced food insecurity.
That reality is part of the reason why the Homeless Voice opened its doors.
"Our mission is to feed as many people as we possibly can," said Roger Wickham, operations manager of the Homeless Voice, who has been picking up and delivering meals for the organization for a quarter century. "We rescue food from different organizations and make sure it gets out to the proper people."
He believes that the Homeless Voice works with nearly a dozen organizations to supply free meals. Three years ago, they partnered with the Florida Panthers.
"After every event that we have, we have a supply of food that didn't get used, some leftover food, and one of the things that we tried to figure out is why we let that food go to waste," said Colombo.
You'll never believe how many people the meals feed.
"In a week's time, I would say right around 600 people,’' said Wickham.
It's a decision for the hockey team that can bring relief to a family or person in need.
"A lot of times, when you think about it, those people who are getting those meals — sometimes the meals aren't the greatest here. They're getting stadium-quality food and really enjoying a hamburger or pizza. It's something they probably haven't had in a long time," said Colombo.
A donation that continues to go a long way for the local community.
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