Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County opens Port St. Lucie food pantry for its members
Nearly 20% of St. Lucie County children were deemed "food insecure" in 2020.
That means a "lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County has responded by opening a new food pantry for its members to supplement their groceries. The Chuck Hill Club in Port St. Lucie unveiled the pantry, which is not open to the general public, at a Sept. 15 event.
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Boys & Girls Clubs family members can visit the pantry — either when they pick up their child or during club hours from 2-7 p.m. Monday through Friday — whenever they're running low on essential such as dairy, protein, vegetables or starches.
An estimated 100 families will benefit from the pantry.
"It will be utilized on a needs basis," said spokesperson Marissa Kappus. "We aim to provide our club members and their families with whatever they need, so the items that they receive will be highly based on that family's needs."
GL Homes renovated the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County's storage room
GL Homes renovated the club's 300-square-foot storage room. The residential construction company installed shelves, provided a refrigerator and standalone freezer, and donated $20,000 to keep the pantry stocked for about six months.
"No one can be expected to learn, focus or grow on an empty belly," company spokesperson Sarah Alsofrom said. "Hunger is a critical need that must be met."
The club hopes to sustain the project beyond that through similar collaborations with other community partners, Kappus said.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony attracted a few people who'd heard the news, but didn't understand the pantry was only for club members and not the general public.
Esther Cepeda of Port St. Lucie and her relatives didn't leave empty-handed. The club asked her to fill out a form indicating what items she wanted in her bag, and gave her information about a community food pantry where she could go in the future.
Gianna Montesano is TCPalm's underserved communities reporter. You can contact her at gianna.montesano@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1429 or follow her on Twitter @gmontesano13.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: GL Homes donates to St. Lucie County's Boys and Girls Club food pantry