Feeding Northeast Florida gets food to those who are struggling

By Shaun Ryan

Hunger is one of the most critical issues facing communities across northern Florida. As many as one in seven adults and one in five children across the 12 counties served by the nonprofit organization Feeding Northeast Florida are considered food insecure.

The rising prosperity so often touted by politicians and media outlets is but a distant rumor to these Americans, who work hard for pay that doesn’t quite allow them to break even, plan for the future or even feed their families decent, nutritious meals.

It’s an ever-present struggle, one that only makes the news when something like a government shutdown heightens the crisis to the point where it can no longer be ignored.

Fortunately, Feeding Northeast Florida is there to help. Its distribution network gets food from many sources to those in need via a network of more than 400 partnerships and programs. It’s a logistic wonder that provides about 97,000 meals a day across an area of the Sunshine State equal in size to New Jersey.

And support by partners like THE PLAYERS Championship has been essential to this mission.

In July, for instance, THE PLAYERS pledged $1 million to help fund THE PLAYERS Center for Nutrition Security and Community Solutions.

“To be the recipient of that kind of gift is just so impactful,” said Feeding Northeast Florida CEO Susan King. “It’s truly an honor.”

The facility includes a number of components that go beyond the nonprofit’s core food distribution efforts. It also addresses community health, advocacy and public policy. Feeding Northeast Florida now has seven nutrition educators and three registered dieticians, as well as a commercial kitchen, all part of its mission to meet the dietary needs of more than 310,000 people and to do so with attention to greater nutrition.

THE PLAYERS has been an important partner of the nonprofit since it was first launched in 2014. This year, Feeding Northeast Florida will be the tournament’s Charity of the Day on Sunday, March 15. The hope is that such recognition will help more people to become aware of this important work.

Help from partners like THE PLAYERS and people in the community who either donate to the cause or volunteer their time and efforts is especially critical in the wake of a loss of federal funding.

About $850,000 was cut from the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation last year and, in August, $1.3 million in food purchase dollars was cut from the department’s Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. This was also a hit to small farms that sourced the produce.

Feeding Northeast Florida also experienced delays associated with the nonprofit’s primary USDA source, The Emergency Food Assistance Program, though King said that seems to be improving.

Fortunately, the Florida Legislature approved a $20 million appropriation for a program called Farmers Feeding Florida in 2025. This allowed food banks to purchase not only fresh fruits and vegetables from the state’s producers, but also beef, milk, peanut butter and even some shellfish.

“It’s really just an extraordinary program,” said King. “It’s helping us make up for a bit of what we lost from the federal program. And it also supports Florida producers.”

Another important source has been retail donations, which account for about 70% of the food the nonprofit distributes. Grocery stores donate excess food rather than dispose of it. This food is still good and meets USDA standards.

But food distribution challenges persist.

The 43-day government shutdown last fall caused delays in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and sparked fear across the spectrum of people who relied on them.

“We saw massive increases in the number of people in our (food distribution) lines,” King said. “We did several big distributions, thousand-household distributions … working those distributions, it was palpable – the fear and concern that neighbors had sitting in those lines, waiting for food.”

As food banks everywhere struggled to buy food, this added supply chain stresses to the mix.

Fortunately, that crisis has calmed down some, and SNAP benefits are now fully funded through September.

People who understand the need have stepped up to help. In 2025, Feeding Northeast Florida had about 16,000 volunteers, who account for tens of thousands of volunteer hours.

And financial donations are always welcome.

“I can do more with a dollar than somebody going to the store and paying retail, because we buy by the tractor-trailer load,” King said.

And supplying food is about more than meeting nutritional needs. It has a ripple effect.

“If I can take dollars out of someone’s budget and, by giving them food assistance when they need it, those dollars can be redirected toward rent and utilities,” King said. “Or we can help somebody get their A1Cs down and have fewer sick days from diabetes.”

Which, in turn, benefits productivity in the workplace.

This is why attention like that shown by THE PLAYERS is important.

“Hunger is a problem every day,” said King. “There is poverty in every ZIP code that we serve. So, we have to continually shine a light on it.”

If you would like to volunteer or donate, go to feedingNEFL.org.