Facts About Hunger in Broward County

The

Harvest Drive Children Helping Children

Children Helping Children

Educating  children  and  creating  a  

consciousness  about  the  needs  of  their  

community;  promoting  altruism  and  

giving  them  the  opportunity  to  help  

others  are  the  cornerstone  of  the    

Harvest  Drive.  

 

Harvest  Drive  believes  in  encouraging  the  

concept  of  children  and  adults  working  

hand-­‐in-­‐hand  to  assist  families  in  

Broward  County  with  gifts  of  food  and  

other  necessities  during  the  Thanksgiving  

holidays  and  throughout  the  year.

Purpose of the Harvest Drive The  Harvest  Drive  was  founded  in  order  to  teach  our  children  that  they  can  and  must  give  back  to  their  community.    Working  with  the  Broward  County  Schools,  the  Harvest  Drive  now  assists  more  than  2000  food  insecure  families  during  the  Thanksgiving  season  and  hundreds  more  throughout  the  year.      Our  motto  “Children  Helping  Children”  comes  to  life  as  thousands  of  children  working  directly  with  school  and  community  leaders,  business  partners  and  philanthropic  organizations  collect,  sort,  bag,  pack  and  distribute  much  needed  groceries,  clothing,  toys  and  household  items  to  families  referred  by  Broward  County  School  social  workers.  

20.5%  of  children  in  Broward  County  are  food  insecure,  meaning,  80,090  children  go  to  bed  hungry.  

A S S I S T I N G F A M I L I E S S I N C E 1 9 9 2

15.0%  of  the  Broward  County  population  is  food  insecure,  with  266,920  people  not  knowing  from  where  they  will  get  their  next  meal.

$3.12  is  the  average  price  per  meal  in  Broward  County.  

How to Harvest a Drive The  Harvest  Drive  is  a  multi-­‐faceted  year  round  project.    The  first  and  most  recognized  aspect  of  the  Harvest  Drive  is  our  Thanksgiving  distribution  of  a  week’s  worth  of  groceries  and  either  a  gift  card  or  the  fixings  for  a  complete  Thanksgiving  meal  to  more  than  2000  families.    Approximately  900  of  these  families  also  have  the  opportunity  to  shop  for  free  for  gently  used  clothing,  books,  toys,  shoes  and  household  items  at  our  Harvest  Drive  Boutiques.    

This  year  we  will  have  13  distribution  sites  located  at  Broward  County  public  schools  throughout  the  County.    More  than  180  public  schools  will  participate  in  the  collection  of  non-­‐perishable  food  and  families  from  all  collecting  schools  will  have  the  option  to  refer  families  to  receive  groceries.    Families  are  referred  by  social  workers  and  information  is  strictly  confidential.      

The  Harvest  Drive  is  a  grassroots,  community  based  organization.    Rotary  clubs,  civic  organizations,  community  business  partners,  corporations,  private  schools,  synagogues,  churches,  girl  scouts,  boy  scouts,  sports  teams,  local  government  officials,  police  and  firemen  all  come  together  to  ensure  that  our  families  receive  their  much  needed  groceries  and  household  necessities.    Each  distribution  school  serves  families  local  to  that  school  creating  a  unique  opportunity  for  everyone  to  join  forces  to  help  others  in  their  own  backyard.  

 

Our  recipient  students  and  their  families  face  food  insecurity  throughout  the  year.      The  Harvest  Drive  seeks  to  increase  our  community  outreach  by  running  several  smaller  Spring  Staples  Drives  and  by  running  2  year  round  pantries  available  to  families  in  crisis.        Our  spring  drives  provide  approximately  8  bags  of  non-­‐perishable  groceries  and  our  pantries  provide  a  large  box  of  much  needed  staples.    As  in  the  fall,  families  are  referred  by  social  workers  and  information  is  strictly  confidential.    

BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN YOUR COMMUNITY.

Food Pantries Open to Assist Broward County School Families Throughout the Year

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One  of  the  Harvest  Drive’s  founding  principles  is  to  ensure  that  children  identified  as  hungry  have  their  needs  met  so  that  they  can  learn  and  grow.    With  the  motto  “Children  helping  Children”,  the  Harvest  Drive  not  only  works  to  improve  the  lives  of  the  hungry  children  and  their  families,  but  also  to  stimulate  growth  within  student  volunteers.  The  students  never  fail  to  impress  with  their  desire  and  compassion  for  the  cause.      

Harvest Drive Boutiques Our  team  of  Harvest  Drive  Worker  Bees  sets  up  “boutiques”  at  three  locations  in  the  fall  and  one  in  the  spring.      Recipient  families  have  the  opportunity  to  select  from  gently  used  donated  clothing,  toys,  books,  and  household  items.    Dedicated  volunteers  work  year  round  to  collect  and  organize  quality  goods.        Our  boutique  team  is  also  available  to  assist  families  in  crisis  throughout  the  year.    The  consequences  of  fire,  floods  and  sickness,  like  hunger  are  not  seasonal.          As  part  of  our  commitment  to  “pay  it  forward”,  every  year  after  our  fall  events  we  pass  on  all  remaining  items  to  other  local  charities.    We  then  start  the  process  all  over  again.  

Harvest  Drive  remains  a  100%  volunteer  charity  staffed  by  “worker  bees,”  students,  and  community  members.    

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The  Harvest  Drive  has  extended  its  reach  and  proudly  supports  ongoing  food  pantries  at  both  Lauderdale  Manors  Family  Resource  Center  in  Ft.  Lauderdale  and  Western  High  School  in  Davie.  With  this  continuous  support,  the  Harvest  Drive  assists  Broward  County  School  social  workers  in  aiding  families  in  crisis.  A  basic  box  given  to  those  in  need  consists  of  staples  including  juice,  pasta,  pasta  sauce,  rice,  beans,  vegetables,  soup,  tuna,  peanut  butter,  jelly,  cereal,  boxed  milk  and  more.      

The  Harvest  Drive  not  only  provides  students  with  much  needed  food  but  also  hundreds  of  new  backpacks  at  the  start  of  the  school  year.  We  all  remember  how  exciting  it  was  to  start  the  year  with  new  school  supplies  and,  unfortunately,  there  are  so  many  students  in  Broward  County  that  cannot  afford  to  purchase  backpacks  and  the  supplies  that  the  teachers  require  each  year.  Working  in  conjunction  with  civic  organizations  and  business  partners,  we  are  able  to  provide  students  with  the  excitement  and  the  materials  necessary  to  start  the  school  year  off  successfully.  

Starting the New School Year with New Backpacks

HARVEST DRIVE PROGRAMS

Needs List

HARVEST DRIVE’S

 

Non-­‐perishable  Items  needed  (Average  for  a  family  of  5):   2  –  Peanut  Butter   4  –  Canned  Tuna  or  Meat   8  -­‐  Canned  Assorted  Veggies  

2  –  Jelly  in  Plastic  Container   2  –  Large  Juice   1  –  Large  Laundry  Detergent  

2  -­‐  Cereal   2  –  Macaroni  and  Cheese   1  –  Dish  Soap  

1  -­‐  Oatmeal   3  –  Pounds  Rice   1  –  Shampoo  

2  –  Pancake  Mix   4  -­‐  Pounds  Pasta   1  –  Large  Toothpaste  

1  –  Pancake  Syrup     3  –  Spaghetti  Sauce  (no  glass)   2  –  Soap/Body  Wash  

3  -­‐  Stuffing     2  -­‐  Pack  of  Cookies   1  -­‐  Deodorant  

3  –  Canned  Gravy   5  –  Canned  Fruit   1  –  Package  of  Napkins  

4  –  Canned  Cranberries   4  –  Canned  Beans   1  –  Box  of  Aluminum  Foil  

4  –  Canned  Sweet  Potatoes   8  –  Canned  Soup      

Perishable  Items  needed  (Average  for  a  family  of  5):  

1  –  10-­‐14  lb.  Turkey   1  –  Dozen  extra  large  eggs   1  -­‐  Pie  

1  -­‐  ½  Gallon  OJ  concentrate   1  -­‐  pkg.  Margarine  sticks   1  -­‐  Parmalat  Milk  

1  -­‐  Loaf  of  bread  –  white/wheat   1  -­‐  pkg.  Dinner  rolls   1  –  5  lb.  Bag  apples/oranges  

The  Harvest  Drive  is  a  non  profit  501(c)3.  If  you  would  like  to  donate  to  our  organization,  or  for  more  information  on  volunteering  opportunities,  visit  www.harvestdriveflorida.com