SWEETWATER, Fla. – More than 600 cars lined up Monday morning nearly two hours before a food distribution kicked off in Sweetwater.
The food giveaway at Vann Academy got started 45 minutes early due to the large crowd.
The giveaway is the result of a partnership between Sweetwater Mayor Orlando Lopez, Florida State Rep. Ana Maria Rodriguez, Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz and Farm Share.
“There’s a lot of need," Diaz told Local 10 News. "The lines have grown a lot more. I thought maybe when some of these people got the check that’s coming from the government it would help a lot, but it seems like a lot of people did not get that, (there are) more people without work and the problem continues to grow.”
Monday’s event began the sixth week of food giveaways at Vann Academy.
Volunteers loaded up drivers’ trunks with food.
“We’re doing this to be able to alleviate some of the burdens that everyone has in their house right now,” Lopez said. “We understand that most houses haven’t been able to have a paycheck in their house for the last 6 or 7 weeks since the layoffs and the furloughs started due to this pandemic. It’s our way to make sure that we give back.”
The food distribution ended around 10:40 a.m. when they ran out of food.