Kerry Galligan

Feeding Northeast Florida Opens Full-Service Food Bank

Those in need on the First Coast are being given new opportunities and new
hope, thanks to Feeding Northeast Florida.

Jacksonville, Fla. Oct. 8, 2014 - Barnabas Center in Fernandina Beach will

begin acting as a full-service satellite distribution center and will be the first of its
kind in the Northeast area.
The facility will have frozen coolers to store perishable food items including meat,
dairy products and produce. Feeding Northeast Florida (FNEFL) has received $70
thousand in grants from wholesale grocery stores as well as private donors to
support the initiative. These grants will go towards purchasing coolers for the
storage of perishable food items.
Currently, 500 families are fed every month thanks to Barnabas Center. The
facilitys infrastructure provides a unique opportunity to help those families. Not
only do volunteers collect and distribute food supplies, but they also offer
nutritional education to inform the beneficiaries and lead them to living a healthier
lifestyle.
This nutritional information will come in handy for the families being helped, as
they are no longer limited high-sodium canned meats and sugar-filled cereals.
Families will be able to whip together meals with real nutritional value.
The families were helping will get back a sense of normalcy that they havent been
able to experience since relying on food banks, says Wanda Lanier, executive

director of the Barnabas Center. Feeding Northeast Florida is allowing them to feel
human again with something as simple as fresh veggies.
The Barnabas Center is just the first of many full service satellite food banks FNEF
plans to establish throughout its service area, which aids in 17 counties.
We have recipients that suffer from diabetes and obesity, I can't wait to see what a
change of diet can do for them," head nutritional educator Lacey Watson stated.
FNEFs collection and distribution efforts will change the lives of thousands of First
Coast Families, creating healthier and better lifestyles for years to come.

Feeding Northeast Florida:

Feeding Northeast Florida is a regional food bank and distribution center, servicing
17 counties on the First Coast. The organization focuses not only on providing food
for thousands of families within its region, but also promoting a healthier lifestyle
by providing nutritional foods to its recipients. The distribution center is found in a
central location on Edgewood Avenue in Jacksonville, with the goal of getting
healthier food to those in need in a shorter amount of time.

http://www.feedingnefl.org/
Media Contact:
Kerry Galligan
Director of Communications for Feeding Northeast Florida
kerrygalligan@gmail.com
(904) 859-2382 (o)
(904) 249-3373 (c)