- April 23, 2024
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With about 3,500 families visiting the Grace Community Food Pantry each month, Charles Silano knows that if he’s shocked at the gas prices, they are too.
“It cost me $79 to fill my car up today, and it used to be $38 not too long ago,” Silano, chairman and founder of the food pantry, said June 3 on Flagler Broadcasting’s “Free For All Friday” radio show.
On the show, Flagler Broadcasting President and CEO David Ayres announced that his company is partnering with the Grace Community Food Pantry for a Million Dollar Food-A-Thon. The event aims to raise $200,000 from now until Friday, July 8. Silano is connected with food suppliers that allow him to buy $5 worth of groceries for $1. With that multiplier effect, the $200,000 will buy $1 million worth of food for local families in need.
The donations will be counted live on the air from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on July 8. Local businesses, churches, organizations or individuals willing to give are invited to email their pledges to [email protected] or stop by the radio station, at 2405 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell, during the broadcast to report their donations. Checks can be made out to Grace Community Food Pantry.
“Our radio stations are in tune with many sectors of Flagler County, and many people are experiencing unprecedented financial challenges just to make ends meet,” Ayres said in a Flagler Broadcasting press release.
The Food-A-Thon will give every local family who signs up and qualifies a $100 box of food each week (including healthy proteins, produce, baked goods) or $400 of food per month.
“To many families, that’s the difference between making a car or rent payment, buying back-to-school supplies, or whatever they need,” Silano said in the press release.
On “Free For All Friday,” Silano said, “I can make a million dollars go a long way, and I can make it last for a long time. Predicting over the fall months, we don’t know if there's going to be a correction (in the economy). So we're trying to prepare as best as possible to make it, and spend it wisely to make the money last as long as possible.”
Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord noted that with hurricane season underway, this is a perfect time for a food-a-thon.
“Economic instability is probably the thing I lose most sleep about these days,” Lord said June 3, on “Free For All Friday.” “I'm picturing in my head this year that the average demand from the community for services after a big impact, like a hurricane, is going to be significantly higher.”
