Together We Can HELP STOP HUNGER By Amanda Overstreet, Communications Coordinator
HUNGER IS EVERYWHERE. It’s the face of your neighbor, the person behind you in church and the stranger at the bus stop. According to the United Way, more than 50,000 people are food insecure in Alachua County alone. The Bread of the Mighty Food Bank in Gainesville strives to fight that statistic. The food bank is the only one of its kind in North Central Florida.
FFB President John L. Hoblick, left, and FFB Insurance President Steve Murray pictured with Karen Woolfstead during the first FFB milk delivery.
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FLORIDAGRICULTURE | JULY 2019
Bread of the Mighty has been instrumental in providing nutrition to a five-county service area for more than 30 years. The organization is housed in a 20,000 square foot warehouse with 2,600 square feet of cooler space, a fleet of 11 trucks and vans and a one-of-a-kind showroom. Last year the organization, with the help of volunteers, distributed more than seven million pounds of food to those in need in Alachua, Gilchrist, Levy, Dixie and Lafayette counties. Karen Woolfstead is the director of communications and development at Bread of the Mighty
and she brings with her 30 plus years’ experience in public relations. She followed her heart to help the hungry after nearly a fourdecade career in television. “I met Marcia Conwell, CEO and president of Bread of the Mighty, through my work at the news station,” she said. “She opened my eyes to hunger. I had no idea the need for food is as big as it is.” Woolfstead explained that the food is distributed through 190 agencies, 80 percent being churches and ministries, who then disperse the food to people in their communities.
