JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville’s City Council approved a bill on Wednesday that intends to send $200,000 to Feeding Northeast Florida as food insecurity plagues numerous families during the government shutdown.
The measure was unanimously approved.
The emergency meeting was intended to review two bills that, if approved, would give money to Feeding Northeast Florida and designate it as the procurement hub for every corner of the city, but Councilmember Rahman Johnson said he would table his bill to allow for the body to fully focus on one piece of legislation submitted by Council President Kevin Carrico and Councilmember Ron Salem.
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The funds will come from the General Funds Budget Stabilization Reserve.
On Friday, Johnson said he would be crafting legislation to formally request $2 million in emergency funding to help local families impacted by the disruption of SNAP benefits amid the federal government shutdown.
“This isn’t about credit, it’s about compassion,” Johnson said. “As long as people get help, that’s what matters. Hunger doesn’t care who gets the headline. The only competition worth having is who can care the fastest.”
Feeding Northeast Florida serves more than 310,000 people, including 95,000 children in Duval County and 11 other counties.
The funding is expected to help people like Ross Torrence, who spoke with News4JAX earlier this week. He is a father of six and a SNAP recipient who has been recently turning to food banks and picking up extra work on top of his other jobs to try and put food on the table for his family.
“I’ve just been running around food pantry to food pantry, going online seeing who’s open, who’s available? What do they have available?” he said.