You Can Double Your Donations Through a Unique Challenge Grant on Giving Tuesday!
Food insecurity often is an unknown crisis, and hunger is not just a third-world problem: It exists in our own community. Despite being one of the wealthier regions in Florida, many people in Broward County struggle to access sufficient nutritious food to lead healthy, active lives.
Nearly 270,000 people in Broward County do not know how their next meal will come, and almost 100,000 children are unable to access nutritious food on a regular basis. Over 50% of households are living at or below the federal poverty level, and any unexpected expense can push someone into food insecurity.
A wide variety of factors are causing the increasing challenges of food insecurity in Broward, including:
- Many households face low wages and high living costs, making it difficult to afford nutritious food.
- The cost of housing in Broward County is high, which often forces families to choose between paying rent and buying food.
- Some areas in Broward County are “food deserts” — areas where residents have limited access and transportation to a supply of healthy, affordable whole food.
- Seniors and other vulnerable populations may experience social isolation, which can limit their access to food assistance.
- Recent inflation has increased the costs of food, exacerbating food insecurity for many households.
Food insecurity has far-reaching effects on our entire community. Lack of access to nutritious food can lead to various health problems, including obesity, diabetes, and heart disease; children who experience food insecurity are at risk of developmental delays and poor academic performance; and food insecurity can affect mental health and lead to increased healthcare costs.
United Way of Broward County is actively addressing food insecurity in our community through a variety of innovative programs and partnerships, including our own in-house initiative Project Lifeline. This powerful program helps ensure our neighbors who are experiencing hunger have direct access to fresh, nutritious food by coordinating the bulk purchase and delivery of fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein, and more to a network of 33 food pantries and feeding programs.
Since its inception in 2009, Project Lifeline has distributed more than 17.5 million lbs. of food to over 7 million people, and in the past year, approximately 550,000 individuals and families were served — an increase of over 100,000 from the previous year.
While this is a large amount of food to distribute, the needs across Broward are much greater. Additional dollars are needed to expand the program to more food banks, and our United Way wants to create a hunger-free Broward and ensure all children, adults, and seniors have access to fresh, nutritious food.
For example, when you donate $100 to our United Way, then the matching donation by the Donnelly Charitable Fund will increase your gift to $200 — $1,000 becomes $2,000 and so on.
Our goal on Giving Tuesday is to raise $25,000 to alleviate food insecurity for thousands of households during this holiday season — and with the incredibly generous challenge grant made by The Cathy and James Donnelly Charitable Fund, we can double the impact by achieving $50,000!
Giving Tuesday, often stylized as #GivingTuesday, is a global generosity movement encouraging people to give back to their communities. It takes place every year on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving in the U.S., which is also after the shopping events of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
This timing of Giving Tuesday is intentional, aiming to shift the focus of the holiday season from consumerism to generosity. The impact has been profound — raising billions of dollars for various causes and leading to a wide range of substantial changes in diverse communities around the world.
Here’s how your donations — when matched with the funds from The Cathy and James Donnelly Charitable Fund — can help lower-income families have access to fresh, nutritious food:
- $2,500 will buy 5,000 lbs. of fresh fruits, vegetables, and proteins
- $1,500 will provide 3,000 people with nutritious meals
- $500 will provide 1,000 complete meals
- $365 will provide 730 meals
- $250 will provide 500 lbs. of fresh fruits, vegetables, and proteins
- $100 will provide meals to 200 individuals
- $50 will buy 100 lbs. of food
- $25 will feed 50 people with healthy meals
Your support matters so much — and on Giving Tuesday, your gift will mean more meals for families, more food supplies for pantries, and more support for our neighbors in need. Every donation — no matter the size — brings us one step closer to our fundraising goal.
This challenge grant funded by The Cathy and James Donnelly Charitable Fund is about coming together and showing Broward County is filled with caring people.
Join us in making a difference to people who are struggling this holiday season by making your donation here. The deadline to meet our goal is December 3, the day of Giving Tuesday — and share this exciting opportunity for impact on your social channels with the hashtag #UWBCGivingTuesday.
Through this generous challenge grant provided by The Cathy and James Donnelly Charitable Fund, we can help build a better Broward and deliver nutritious food to families in need.
Your participation will make an enormous difference — let’s rise to the challenge and ensure no one in our community goes hungry, especially during this holiday season.
