'We just need volunteers'

EAST MILTON — “I haven’t seen two food distributions after a mild winter fill up so fast,” United Way of Santa Rosa Major Gifts Manager Kyle Holley said.

The first was an April 14 One Love distribution, with food from the Manna Food Bank, held at two locations: Milton High School and S.S. Dixon Primary School in Pace.

One Love announced the event March 29 and, by April 13, both sites attracted roughly 150 families who submitted vouchers to receive food.

The second event was Humanists of West Florida’s Motivated by Compassion distribution with food from Feeding the Gulf Coast. It was April 29 at WTEC in the Santa Rosa County Industrial Park, 5700 Industrial Blvd., Milton. Roughly 125 families attended this event, which filled up in a week.

Both events aimed to feed others, but the sponsoring organizations share different backgrounds.

One Love is an organization of members from various churches, according to spokesperson Norm Sullivan.

″(We’re about) churches coming together trying to show the love of Christ to people,” Sullivan said. “That’s what One Love is about. We don’t (use) the names of specific churches. We wear One Love shirts. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”

Humanists of West Florida is a civic organization for people who are not religious but want to help, according to chapter president Andre Ryland.

″(We’re a) non-theistic secular organization,” Ryland said. “We make a home for people that are not churched but want to still be good human beings and help others. Our mission statement says we will try to help people who need help right along with our religious friends.”

These events happening close together and filling up could indicate better communication with the school district letting families know about them. However, they are also symptomatic of the county’s poverty level, according to Holley.

“It has to be. It’s tied directly to income. It’s linked directly to the quality and availability of jobs. It means people are hungry and need more work … There’s a tremendous amount of pressure on household income.”

Holley believes the solution is less of a tax burden on small business to be able to expand and hire more people.

“United Way would want to see less pressure on small business to hire more people. In the meantime, we’d like to see more sponsorship for food distribution (and we need) more volunteers.”

Through Feeding the Gulf Coast, anybody can sponsor a food distribution.

“It’s very affordable,” Holley said. That means $750 for an estimated 5,000 pounds to feed 100 families, according to a Feeding the Gulf Coast representative.

“We just need volunteers.”

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Editor’s note: A previous version of this article included the incorrect amount of food available for sponsorship.