Beginning this week, local children and families will be able to pick up pre-packaged dinners to go from 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm at four Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County (BGCSLC) locations. Thanks to a band of volunteers, the Treasure Coast Food Bank, and generous donations, 2000 people will know where their next meal is coming from.

It all began as a simple Facebook post to pledge assistance to anyone who may be in need of food during this National crisis. This sparked a fire in Will Armstead, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County (BGCSLC), who responded, “Let’s do this!”  According to Armstead, due to COVID-19, Club Houses which are traditionally open for spring break are now closed through March 30th. Dana Trabulsy, a longtime supporter of BGCSLC reached out to Armstead. Thus, it began a snowball effect of community collaboration. “Traditionally, our club kids receive dinner every night,” said Armstead. “This is our standard operating procedure. However, during this time of uncertainty, our goals is to serve families not individuals.” Evidence shows that the stress of worrying about how you are going to take care of your family can create tension, anxiety, and fear.

Says Trabulsy, “People stepped up immediately, starting with the Treasure Coast Food Bank.” (TCFB). Judith Cruz, President, and CEO of TCFB has committed 1200+ meals daily to this particular program, not to mention the other important initiatives they have in place. Cruz said, “We are prepared and have been working with our partnering agencies to ensure that anyone who needs meals will receive them.”  Tami McHale owner of the St. Lucie Draft House, because of her kindness, we have to-go boxes, bags and several cases of gloves” Other community partners joined in including Aramark, who is providing 2 full days of meals; Southern Eagle Distributing, providing 2 full days of meals; Bonner Mobile Bar / The Rusty Putter supplying meal preparation and food donation. Generous donations to supplement supplies were received from GL Homes and Waste Pro. SLC Board of County Commissioners, SLC Sheriff’s Office, and SLC Fire District have all volunteered resources.

We are currently seeking 10 healthy volunteers for each of the 4 BGCSLC Club Houses each day. The locations are Chuck Hill Unit -198 NW Marion Avenue, PSL. Garden Terrace – 3104 Avenue J, Ft. Pierce. Ken Pruitt Unit -10673 SE Lennard Road, PSL. Infinity Clubhouse – 1011 N. 23rd St., Ft. Pierce. We are asking that you only volunteer if you are not sick, have not been in contact with anyone that is sick or been exposed to COVID-19 and have not traveled outside of the US in the past 2 weeks. Each unit will be taking extra precautionary measures to ensure a safe environment. Only volunteers and employees will be allowed in the buildings. There will be no person to person contact made during meal distribution and each facility will be sanitized daily.

If you would like to donate food, supplies or a supplemental money donation, please contact Will Armstead at [email protected] or Dana Trabulsy at [email protected]. The Treasure Coast Food Bank is also seeking volunteers for packaging. Visit www.stophunger.org for more information.

For anyone who would like to volunteer, visit the link. https://bgcslc.rocks/food.