Hungry Americans in Florida are being fed for free: ‘People are hurting’

Every Saturday morning in the parking lot of the Boynton Beach Mall in Florida, hundreds of drivers line up in their vehicles, eager for a meal.

“These are regular people. They have a job,” Charles Bender told Fox News Digital. – They simply don’t manage.

Bender is the chief executive officer of Place of Hope, a faith-based organization that provides programs and services children and family in five Florida counties.

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“Every Saturday of the month we serve families who are in desperate need of food and food supplies – and that’s quite a number,” Bender said. “So we’re out there every Saturday just trying to meet their needs.”

The initiative started at the beginning of this year. After about three months, Bender said, Place of Hope has served more than 1 million pounds food.

By December, that number had grown to over 2 million.

Place of Hope volunteers gather every Saturday morning for a few hours to provide the essentials to those waiting in line food and drink – all for free.

“There’s no background check,” Bender said. “These are just people who have needs… and volunteers are there to load their cars with donated goods.”

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Donated items come from local businesses, grocery stores such as Publix and Trader Joe’s and even the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bender said.

“We are talking solid, nutritious meals for families — produce and meat and chicken and all kinds of different things, some canned food,” he said.

One Saturday at the end of September, volunteers sorted the donations that were unloaded from the refrigerators and the palace.

Among the donated food and drink were cucumbers, pumpkins, potatoes, meat, bread, cheese, milk and juice. There was even baby food.

Before the opening of the order, the volunteers gathered around the pastor who led them in prayer. Then it was time to go to work.

Volunteers work conveyor belt style, filling each open trunk with food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with water and soft drinksas the vehicles slowly make their way along each marked station.

It takes about two and a half minutes from start to finish.

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Vehicles often line up before sunrise – hours before distribution begins – just to secure a spot.

“People are hurt,” Bender said.

“Who wants to wait in line for food on a Saturday? But if you have to, you will.”

The first driver to pass the line that Saturday introduced himself as Mike, declining to give his last name.

He told Fox News Digital that he is disabled and was grateful to Place of Hope for giving him a helping hand.

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“I thank God they’re doing this,” he said. “It’s good that they’re doing it. It really helps a lot.”

Great-grandfather called it a “blessing.”

Place of Hope is not just about feeding families on Saturdays.

The organization also provides meals throughout the week for foster families in the area.

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“It’s just good people coming together to fill this need,” Bender said.

This need is most noticeable on Saturday mornings in the otherwise sparse parking lot of the shopping center.

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“These are ordinary people from all walks of life [who] I just need that little extra help because it didn’t look like this four years ago,” Bender said.

“It didn’t feel like this.”