Defensive tackle Randy Starks and some of his teammates will join
volunteers from UnitedHealthcare today at Olinda Park to staff a Feeding
South Florida Mobile Food Pantry. The project is the culmination of the
Sack Hunger campaign, where UnitedHealthcare donated over 49,000 meals
to Feeding South Florida for the 41 sacks by Starks and the rest of the
defense.
“I am excited to work with UnitedHealthcare as part of the Sack Hunger
campaign,” said Starks. “My teammates and I have done work in the past
with Feeding South Florida and understand the importance of the services
it provides throughout South Florida.”
The Mobile Food Pantry is one of Feeding South Florida’s most innovative
and effective ways to bring fresh produce into areas that have been
deemed ‘food deserts.’ A food desert is an area in which a majority of
the residents have limited access to large retail stores with fresh food
and grocery products. Through Feeding South Florida’s Mobile Food
Pantry, individuals and families are able to access fresh fruits,
vegetables, dairy and breads that are so vital to maintaining a proper
diet.
The mobile food pantry at Olinda Park is expected to feed nearly 2,000
people.
“As demand for our services continues to increase, Feeding South Florida
is appreciative of UnitedHealthcare’s support,” said Paco Velez,
president & CEO, Feeding South Florida. “We have seen an increase in the
number of working families, children and older adults in need of food
assistance, so this donation enables us to provide food items and fresh
produce to the nearly 950,000 South Floridians struggling to put food on
the table.”
“UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to partner with
Feeding South Florida to make a difference in the lives of Floridians
and help ensure they have access to fresh, nutritious food,” said
Nicholas Zaffiris, CEO, UnitedHealthcare of South Florida.
This project is the latest in UnitedHealthcare’s “Do Good. Live Well.”
employee volunteer initiative, whose mission is to prevent hunger and
obesity, inspire service and encourage volunteerism. For more
information about the benefits of volunteering and to find local
opportunities to get involved, visit www.DoGoodLiveWell.org.
Follow @DoGoodLiveWell on Twitter or “like” Do Good. Live Well. on
Facebook.
About Feeding South Florida
Feeding South Florida’s mission is to end hunger in South Florida by
providing immediate access to nutritious food, leading hunger and
poverty advocacy efforts, and transforming lives through innovative
programming and education. Through a local network of approximately 350
nonprofit partner agencies, Feeding South Florida strives to serve the
almost 1 million individuals in need, including 296,600 children, older
adults and the working poor, in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and
Monroe Counties. As a member of Feeding America, the nation’s leading
hunger relief charity with 202 food banks in the network, Feeding South
Florida is the sole Feeding America food bank in South Florida, and the
largest in the state, distributing nearly 35 million pounds of food
annually. For more information on how you can get involved with Feeding
South Florida, visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org,
call 954.518.1818 or follow Feeding South Florida on Facebook at
facebook.com/FeedingSFL and Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingSFL.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live
healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting
consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships
with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health
benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid
beneficiaries, and contracts directly with 780,000 physicians and other
health care professionals and 5,900 hospitals and other care facilities
nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 40 million people in
health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group
(NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
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Copyright Business Wire 2014