'Everyday people,' hungry and hurting, receive free meals in Florida
A Florida faith-based organization is providing free meals to families every Saturday morning in the parking lot of a mall. Many of the recipients are working-class families.
On any given Saturday morning in the parking lot of the Boynton Beach Mall in Florida, hundreds of drivers line up in their vehicles, eager to receive a meal.
"These are everyday people. They have jobs," Charles Bender told Fox News Digital. "They're just not getting by."
Bender is founding CEO of Place of Hope, a faith-based organization providing programs and services to children and families in five Florida counties.
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"Every Saturday of the month, we serve families in desperate need of food and nutritional supplies – and that's quite a number," Bender said. "So, we're out there every Saturday and just trying to meet their needs."
The initiative started earlier this year. After about three months, Bender said, Place of Hope had served more than a million pounds of food.
Through December, that number has grown to over 2 million.
Place of Hope volunteers gather for a few hours every Saturday morning to provide those waiting in line with essential food and drink – all for free.
"There's no pre-vetting," Bender said. "These are just people who have need … and volunteers are there to load their cars with donated goods."
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The donated items come from area businesses, grocery stores like Publix and Trader Joe's and even the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bender said.
"We're talking solid, nutritious meals for families – produce and meats and chicken and all kinds of different things, some canned foods," he said.
On one Saturday in late September, volunteers were sorting donation items that had been unloaded from refrigerated trucks and palates.
Among the donated food and drinks were cucumbers, squash, potatoes, meat, bread, cheese, milk and juice. There was even baby food.
Before the line opened, the volunteers gathered around a pastor who led them in prayer. Then it was time to go to work.
Volunteers work assembly line-style, filling each open trunk with breakfast, lunch and dinner foods, along with water and soft drinks, as vehicles slowly make their way along each designated stop.
It takes about two-and-a-half minutes from start to finish.
Vehicles often line up before sunrise – hours before the distribution begins – just to secure a spot.
"People are hurting," Bender said.
"Who wants to wait in line for food on a Saturday? But if you have to, you will."
The first driver who made it through the line that Saturday identified himself as Mike, declining to provide his last name.
He told Fox News Digital that he's disabled and was grateful to Place of Hope for lending a helping hand.
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"I thank God they're doing this," he said. "It's a good thing they're doing. It really helps a lot."
The great-grandfather called it "a blessing."
Place of Hope isn't just feeding families on Saturdays.
The organization also provides meals throughout the week for foster families in the area.
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"It's just good people coming together to meet this need," Bender said.
That need is most noticeable on Saturday mornings in an otherwise sparse mall parking lot.
"These are everyday people of all walks of life [who] just need that little extra help because, four years ago, it didn't look like this," Bender said.
"It didn't feel like this."
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