\u2018Food is healthcare\u2019<\/p>\n
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(L\/R)The Village Freedge and Pantry founder and CEO Sherina Jones and DCSR founder and Executive Director Dr. Armen Henderson.<\/p>\n
(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n
Sherina Jones, CEO and founder of The Village (FREE)DGE & Pantry, launched the initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren weren\u2019t in school. Jobs were being cut, and people were in short supply for food,\u201d said Jones. \u201cPeople were wondering how they were going to make ends meet or keep food on the table for their children.\u201d<\/p>\n
During lockdown, while scrolling on YouTube, Jones wondered why Miami lacked community refrigerators. She started with a few fridges outside local businesses, quickly exposing a deep need and economic strain in the predominantly Black community.<\/p>\n
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L\/R) James \u201cMunch\u201d Mungin, daily logistics and site manager of the Village Freedge and Pantry, and founder Sherina Jones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n
Food insecurity continues to rise across South Florida. About 15% of Miami-Dade County residents lacked consistent access to food in 2023, according to state data.<\/a><\/p>\n As Jones handed out food in the early days, she quickly noticed the physical toll of hunger.<\/p>\n \u201cI would see people fainting. I\u2019ve seen seizures. They come with different medical issues because then you can see their legs are inflamed,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n Free groceries in boxes ready to be picked up by a resident.\u00a0<\/p>\n (Amelia Orjuela Da Silva for The Miami Times)<\/p>\n This led her to Dr. Armen Henderson, a University of Miami professor, internal medicine physician, and founder and executive director of DCSR.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it (co-location) works best because food is healthcare,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cAccess to food is survival. And you also need access to doctors. It\u2019s a one-two punch.\u201d<\/p>\n Both organizations were serving hundreds of people daily at a site near Northwest Seventh Avenue and 55th Street until the partnership was abruptly disrupted. Henderson stated that the building owner’s failure to maintain the property led to the organization\u2019s withholding rent and, subsequently, its eviction. They relocated to their current shared site, where they have been for nearly three years.<\/p>\n Fighting food waste and hunger<\/p>\n Today, The Village (FREE)DGE & Pantry operates six days a week, serving more than 5,000 neighbors monthly. Jones categorizes the need into three tiers: the unhoused, those in rooming or halfway houses, and housed families struggling with rising costs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe give a bag for the houseless population. Our second tier is for people in rooming homes. And the third tier is for families that have a home but are experiencing a hard time, so we created a grocery bag so they could go home and cook a meal at home.\u201d<\/p>\n A typical day begins with oatmeal and coffee, followed by volunteers packing peanut butter and jelly, tuna, or turkey and cheese sandwiches. For people without kitchens, the sandwiches are paired with microwave-ready meals. Saturdays feature a farmers-market-style setup where residents choose from fresh produce.<\/p>\n “We try to serve as we want somebody to serve us if we were in need,” Jones noted.<\/p>\n The organization also fights food waste, sourcing much of its supply from grocers and organizations like Food Rescue South Florida. The pantry has also been intentionally shifting toward healthier options.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’re pivoting more to healthier things, introducing them to a more healthy lifestyle, not cookies and snacks and cakes. We give them more bananas, oranges, peaches, and plums,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n Henderson notes that this shift is vital for patient health.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people rely on food pantries, their health is tied to whatever food they can get that day,\u201d he said. \u201cIf the only thing available is high sugar or high salt, then their diabetes or hypertension is harder to control.\u201d<\/p>\n The pantry became an even more critical lifeline after recent disruptions to SNAP benefits. When shelves emptied, the organization expanded its hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe reassured every person that they would leave with food,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe did that every day until the shelves were empty.\u201d<\/p>\n Medicine without walls<\/p>\n After picking up groceries, residents can walk just a few steps to Doctors Within Borders, a free urgent care clinic built from shipping containers. There are no appointments or insurance requirements, and it is open Thursday through Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople walk in for colds, wounds, chronic illness,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cThey can see a children\u2019s doctor, an adult doctor, or a psychiatrist, which is rare in a free clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n According to DCSR\u2019s 2024 annual report,<\/a> 97% of patients live below 200% of the federal poverty line, and 82% rate their health as fair or poor. For many undocumented residents, it is their primary healthcare access point.<\/p>\n Supported by the Health Foundation of South Florida, the clinic provides advanced services rarely found free of cost, including lab work, EKGs, ultrasounds, MRIs, and CT scans. The team also offers case management, helping patients navigate disability benefits and Social Security.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve written letters for people in jail, helped them qualify for services they didn\u2019t think they could get, and even done home visits for mold inspections,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cWe’ve just been a resource for whatever people need, in addition to being an urgent care.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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