Press Release: Florida Impact to End Hunger Receives Critical Investment from MAZON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

August 16, 2022

MEDIA CONTACT:

Kim Johnson, 407-234-8042-kjohnson@flimpact.org

Florida Impact to End Hunger Receives Critical Investment from National Anti-Hunger Organization

A new wave of investment from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger will seed and support grassroots anti-hunger infrastructure in Florida

 

Tallahassee, FL — Today, Florida Impact is pleased to announce a new partnership with MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, a leading national anti-hunger organization, to further our efforts to curb hunger in our community. Florida Impact is one of 13 new partners in MAZON’s Emerging Advocacy Fund, a nationwide effort to support and expand grassroots anti-hunger work in the states most impacted by food insecurity. Over five years, the Emerging Advocacy Fund has invested in more than 50 other organizations in 19 states and Puerto Rico, and this latest allocation increases its total giving in the U.S. to more than $9.1 million. MAZON also invests in strategic partners in Israel and Indian Country.

“This grant from MAZON will allow us to have a seat at the table and continue the important work of our 42-year history of helping communities mobilize and maximize access to federal, state, and local food and nutrition programs with a focus on under resourced populations around our state,” said Kim Johnson, President/CEO of Florida Impact.

“With nearly four decades of experience fighting hunger in this country, we know that people in some states face greater barriers to food security, but no one deserves to be hungry — regardless of circumstance or zip code,” said Mia Hubbard, Vice President of Programs.

President of Programs at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. “We understand the value and vitality of building a strong, resilient anti-hunger advocacy infrastructure, and we are more committed than ever to listen to, learn from, and support communities facing high rates of food insecurity.”

In Florida, over 2 million people are experiencing hunger daily. That’s one out of nine people. Nationally, more than 10% of households — nearly 40 million people — struggle with food security, a rate that increases for families with children and in communities of color. MAZON’s new investments will build power among local advocates fighting for policy-based solutions designed to interrupt the vicious cycle of neglect and economic struggle, especially among our most vulnerable populations.

Other recipients of MAZON’s Emerging Advocacy Fund grants include:

● Alabama Arise (Montgomery, Ala.)

● Alabama Food Bank Association (Huntsville, Ala.)

● Alaska Federation of Natives (Anchorage, Alaska)

● Alaska Food Policy Council (Homer, Alaska)

● Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (Anchorage, Alaska)

● Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (Little Rock, Ark.)

● Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance (Little Rock, Ark.)

● Center for Rural Affairs (Lyons, Neb.)

● Centro para la Nueva Economía (San Juan, PR)

● Children’s Action Alliance (Phoenix, Ariz.)

● Espacios Abiertos (San Juan, PR)

● Feeding Indiana’s Hungry (Indianapolis, Ind.)

● Feeding Kentucky (Frankfort, Ky.)

● Feeding Louisiana (Baton Rouge, La.)

● Feeding Northeast Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.)

● Florida Policy Institute (Orlando, Fla.)

● Food Justice Lab/ West Virginia University Research Corp. (Morgantown, W.Va.)

● Good Shepherd Food Bank (Auburn, Maine)

● Hawai’i Appleseed (Honolulu, Hawai’i)

● Hawai’i Children’s Action Network (Honolulu, Hawai’i)

● Hawai’i Foodbank Collaborative (Honolulu, Hawai’i)

● Hawai’i Public Health Institute (Honolulu, Hawai’i)

● Hunger-Free Oklahoma (Tulsa, Okla.)

● Indy Hunger Network (Indianapolis, Ind.)

● Instituto del Desarollo de la Juventud (San Juan, PR)

● Kansas Action for Children (Topeka, Kan.)

● Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice (Lawrence, Kan.)

● Kentucky Center for Economic Policy / Mountain Association for Community Economic Development (Berea, Ky.)

● Kentucky Equal Justice Center (Lexington, Ky.)

● Latino Community Fund of Georgia (Atlanta, Ga.)

● Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (Nashville, Tenn.)

● Louisiana Budget Project (Baton Rouge, La.)

● Mississippi Center for Justice (Jackson, Miss.)

● Missouri Budget Project (St. Louis, Mo.)

● MomsRising (Raleigh, N.C.)

● Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law & Public Interest (Lincoln, Neb.)

● North Carolina Alliance for Health (Raleigh, N.C.)

● North Carolina Justice Center (Raleigh, N.C.)

● Oklahoma Policy Institute (Tulsa, Okla.)

● Open Sky Policy Institute (Lincoln, Neb.)

● Operation Food Search (St. Louis, Mo.)

● Preble Street (Portland, Maine)

● Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi (Flowood, Miss.)

● Poverty Solutions Group (Florida)

● Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

● Tennessee Justice Center (Nashville, Tenn.)

● Voices for Georgia’s Children (Atlanta, Ga.)

● West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy (Charleston, W.Va.)

● West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition (Charleston, W.Va.)

● William E. Morris Institute for Justice (Phoenix, Ariz.)

About Florida Impact

Florida Impact is a statewide anti-hunger organization dedicated to helping communities mobilize and maximize access to federal, state, and local food and nutrition programs with a focus on under resourced populations. For more information please visit floridaimpact.org.

About MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger:

Inspired by Jewish values and ideals, MAZON is a national advocacy organization working to end hunger among people of all faiths and backgrounds in the United States and Israel. For more information on MAZON, please visit mazon.org.