This includes making emergency financial assistance and childcare funding available to Delray Beach residents, as well as launching the organization’s first pantry distribution in west Delray Beach.
Previously limited to Boca Raton and Boynton Beach residents, BHH has made financial assistance for rent, utilities, and childcare expenses available to Delray Beach residents in crisis through its Resource Center. The plan is also to expand the program to Lantana/Lake Worth residents and eventually to the other zip codes in Palm Beach County that BHH serves.
The organization’s decision to service the west Delray Beach community came from the area’s lack of hunger relief services. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the area south of Atlantic Avenue on Jog Road is considered to have low access to healthy food sources combined with low income and a shortage of nearby food pantries. As a response to the growing need within this community, BHH has added bi-weekly distribution at Bethel Evangelical Baptist Church on Tuesdays from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm and Thursdays from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
Currently, Boca Helping Hands has five pantry distribution locations, including east Boca Raton, west Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Lantana/Lake Worth, and now Delray Beach. Since starting its biweekly food distribution in Delray Beach on October 5, the organization has served 129 families. There are 97 new registered families, and 33 are current clients who were previously traveling to further locations such as Boynton Beach or Boca Raton to pick up their pantry bags of groceries.
“We have been able to expand the footprint of our pantry bag distribution largely through the support of our partners in the faith community who have made their facilities available to us,” said Greg Hazle, Boca Helping Hands Executive Director. “We are happy to be working alongside Pastor Jules and his team at Bethel Evangelical Baptist Church to continue the expansion of our feeding program into Delray Beach. We hope our partnership will serve the needs of many food-insecure families in that community.”
Delray Beach Pantry Bag Program client Larence Winkler says the food helps him and his daughter. “Now that they’re closer, it makes it a whole bunch easier to get to. They’re great, the food is good, and the people are really nice.”
The new Delray Beach service location will also become a fifth distribution site for the Boca Helping Hands Thanksgiving Box Brigade program, anticipated to feed a record 3,000 families in November. Now in its 17th year, the program provides each participant with a turkey and a box filled with all the ingredients needed to prepare a holiday meal.
