As dance music throbbed in the air at The Breakers’ Ponce de Leon Ballroom on Thursday, hands scooped up, sealed and packaged thousands of hearty servings of dried pasta.
The hands belonged to volunteers from the Breakers and Palm Beach County Food Bank, who worked quickly, laughing and chatting as part of 100,000 Meals Day. The meals packaged during the afternoon event will help feed thousands of food-insecure Palm Beach County families, said Liz Cabral, program director for the food bank.
“A lot of people think, ‘This is Palm Beach County, this is a rich person’s playground, we don’t need these programs,’ but we do,” she said. “There are roughly 173,000 food insecure people in Palm Beach County, 50,000 of whom are children.”
After a similar event last September, Cabral said the Breakers had been in regular contact about how they could continue to support the food bank, and those inquiries came from the Breakers’ board of directors, specifically member Barbara Harty.
Harty inquired about hosting a charity event at the Breakers after the hotel reported that 2,300 employees volunteered 32,782 hours during its last fiscal year, she said. The Breakers reached out to the food bank, and the two organizations decided to hold 100,000 Meals Day again because of the success of the previous event, Cabral said.
Harty showed up Thursday to join other volunteers. “We asked if the board could come in and contribute as well, since a lot of our employees are putting in long hours,” she said.
“In my opinion, packaging food for people in need is the best use of the ballroom,” Harty told the Daily News, taking a break from scooping pasta.
Harty wasn’t the only board member who helped pack the meals, as the event was scheduled right after the board meeting. “Everyone on the board was so excited, they all volunteered,” she said.
Those include members of the Kenan family, owners of The Breakers, and descendants of Henry Flagler, Breakers CEO Paul Leone said.
Leone smiled as he spoke about his employees’ passion.
“It makes me really proud to see my team so willing to bring that Breakers energy not only to their work but to the community as well,” he said.
Breakers President Tricia Taylor said the event was a great opportunity to support the local community while working alongside the rest of the resort team.
“We really care about making a difference in the lives of our team members, in the lives of our neighborhoods and communities,” Taylor said, “so we consider it an honor and a privilege to give back in whatever way we can, no matter how big or small.”
Julia McMahon, the resort’s social impact manager, noted that the Breakers promotes community service and encourages employees to volunteer, but how they get involved is up to them.
“The great thing about this program is that it is team-run; members are encouraged to pursue their passions and give back to society in a way that is truly meaningful to them,” McMahon said.
The Breakers’ 250 volunteers were joined by several food bank volunteers, including retiree Charles Green. “A lot of us (volunteers) are seniors and we enjoy doing whatever we can for the community,” Green said. “A lot of people can’t afford food right now, so this is a really important service.”
Cabral agreed, saying packages will be delivered to more than 200 organizations across the county, including churches, medical centers, schools, libraries and shelters, ahead of World Hunger Day on May 28.
She said the distribution would provide a vital source of nutrition for thousands of food-insecure schoolchildren whose summer holidays begin at the end of May.
“So kids end up missing a lot of the meals that they would have received from school,” she said. “Parents might barely have enough money for rent and other monthly expenses, but not enough for food. So we want to be there as a safety net that families can rely on.”
Thursday’s fundraiser concluded with 72,000 bags of pasta packed, but starting on Memorial Day, a group of Breakers volunteers will stop by the food bank every Monday throughout the summer to help pack food, said Andrea Rendón, marketing and communications specialist for the charity.
To learn more about the Food Bank of Palm Beach County’s services and volunteer opportunities, visit pbcfoodbank.org
Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist for the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida network. He can be reached at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.
