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Paco Velez
In honor of Feeding South Florida’s
35th anniversary, we catch up with the man
leading Miami’s fight against hunger.
It was nothing short of destiny
because “I grew up serving,”
said Paco Velez, President and
CEO of Feeding South Florida.
“Whether it was as an altar
boy or working in customer
service at Walmart, I've always
wanted to help people.” Taking
a job at the San Antonio branch
of Feeding America right after
graduating from Baylor University in
Waco, Texas, Velez found his calling
in the food banking industry, where
it turned out he had a knack for
the business of feeding America's
hungry: In the 12 years he spent
as the Director of Agency Relations
in San Antonio, Velez's department
grew from a team of two to an
80-person operation that introduced
new programs like community
gardening and after-school snacks
for kids in need.
Velez's ingenuity was not lost
on his colleagues at Feeding
America, the national organization
that oversees the regional ones,
and in 2012 he was tapped to help
bring Feeding South Florida out of
a six-figure debt. Since then, the
Pembroke Park-based organization
has entirely bounced back,
increasing the amount of meals it
provides to South Florida families to
30 million pounds per year.
Now, as it celebrates its 35th
anniversary, Velez wants to bring
Feeding South Florida to the next
level by helping low-income families
become healthier and more selfreliant.
Here, we talk to him about
why the organization’s local fresh
food partners are so critical, the
importance of education in helping
families and why hunger is such a
vital problem to solve.
Why is it so important to end
hunger in South Florida?
There's a cycle of poverty and it
starts with hunger. When kids
aren’t eating well a couple of
things happen: one, they don't
learn as much or as well
because their cognitive skills are
compromised; and two, they have
health issues. When you have a
crippled ability to learn and you
couple that with health issues,
then the chances for you to find a
high-paying job are minimized. And
when your chances are minimized,
your cycle repeats because you
can’t afford healthy, nutritious food.
Hunger is a key factor.
What are some of the biggest
challenges facing Feeding
South Florida today?
It's really about putting a face to
the need. There's a stigma when
it comes to hunger. The idea that
people aren’t able to put food on the
table because they're not working
enough or because they’re taking
advantage of the system. In reality,
folks don't want to rely on someone
else for their food. People want to
go to the grocery store and make
food for their family, but they simply
can't always afford it because they
have to pay other bills. Getting
the community to understand the
struggles our families are going
through on a daily basis is definitely
a big challenge, and it impacts our
fundraising abilities.
How has nutrition become
part of the equation for your
organization?
Health has definitely become an
issue and it’s one of the paradoxes
of low-income families, where
obesity dangers run high. Buying
nutritious food is a struggle because
a lot of times people can’t afford it
and don’t know how to prepare it.
And we don’t just want to give
them food they don’t know how to
prepare. So we help families with
hands-on training, teaching them
how to eat properly for certain
parts of their body, helping them
understand the benefits of eating
good foods, and the dangers of
eating unhealthy food.
What are Feeding South Florida
families eating?
We primarily work with raw goods,
raw ingredients and grocery items.
We’re blessed with an abundance of
farms in South Dade, who send fresh
produce ready to be distributed to
our families. We have about 420
retail outlets that we work with and
pick up from in the tri-county area,
filling our trucks with food as often
as three times a week, and delivering
the goods to our warehouse in South
Broward. From there, the goods
are sorted and packaged by our
volunteers and delivered to families
through our Mobile Pantry program.
What’s next for Feeding South Florida?
Getting to a place where we’re
not only providing meals, but also
providing long-term opportunities,
including workforce training and
development programs. Right now,
we’re putting together a curriculum
to be approved by the Department
of Agriculture to train warehouse
managers and drivers. There’s a
shortage of these positions in South
Florida, including among the various
donors we already work with, so
we’re trying to train people in those
areas so we can place them in good
jobs. That’s a big part of our vision.
TEXT BY NICOLE MARTINEZ /
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICK GARCIA
DID YOU KNOW
13.7% of the South Florida
population is food insecure,
with 785,040 people unsure where
they will get their next meal.
Children are especially at risk:
about 280,630 kids go to bed
hungry in South Florida.
It doesn’t cost much to move a
pound of food: A dollar equals
six meals, and for every dollar
donated, Feeding South Florida
can provide about $12 worth of
food to hungry families.
Feeding South Florida’s annual
Outrun Hunger 5k will take
place March 15 at Hollywood’s
Charnow Park. To participate
or make donations, go to
feedingsouthflorida.org.
46 INDULGE | FEBRUARY / MARCH 2016 | www.miamiindulge.com