JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Did you know that 1 in 5 military families in Jacksonville is nutrition insecure?
But a collaboration between the Community Health Outreach and the American Heart Association is working to change that statistic for the better, starting with a truck carrying 3,500-5,000 pounds of food that will feed roughly 6,000 families a month.
It’s just one of the many ways CHO and AHA are helping families in need in Jacksonville.
The food offloaded from the truck will end up in a pantry outfitted with refrigerators and freezers for perishable goods.
Organizers say the need to feed families is great in Jacksonville at all different times of the year.
“People are really reliant and appreciative of our pantries like CHO. There are dozens of pantries in the community,” said Jessie Rausch with the First Coast American Heart Association. “There’s not a lot of support in West Jacksonville and so CHO serves a huge need out here for families.”
Rausch said the program is stabilizing families and improving their quality of life, but the services don’t stop there. The Community Health Outreach also offers many other programs.
“We have the pantry, of course, but we also have our free primary care clinic inside, dental care clinic, as well as our baby love program which supports moms and babies with diapers, wipes and formula at times, clothing and things like that,” Rausch explained.
Caitlin Keat, who is now a team volunteer, said CHO helped during one of the hardest times of her life, when she had a medical issue that led to unpaid leave from her job as a teacher.
The programs helped her with baby formula and other needs for first-time mothers, helping her to offset medical expenses. Now that she’s back on her feet, she’s paying it back by giving her time and energy.
“Being a first-time mom and having my first surgery and, you know, the challenges, financial challenges. So just being able to support other moms that are going through, you know, first-time moms as well,” Keat said. “Being a teacher, I am very handy. So I found myself here just trying to see in what way I could help, and I ended up being put over here in the baby love clinic, where I check people in and help mothers get what they need.”
Keat is just one of thousands of Jacksonville residents who have received free help when they needed it the most.
The programs also support one of the American Heart Association’s signature events: The First Coast Annual Heart Ball, which will be from 6-11 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach. For more information, click here.
If you’d like to donate to the American Heart Association, click here.