A new food locker has been installed at Neighborhood Medical Center on South Monroe. The goal is to make more food available to more people who need it.
Monique Ellsworth, CEO of Second Harvest of the Big Bend, says the lockers represent a cutting-edge solution to hunger.
“The Big Bend, I think, has more food lockers like this than any other community in the nation," she said. "So, we are really leading this and [applause] across the Feeding America network, what we are doing with food lockers like this is being studied because other communities recognize that bridging the gap, bringing food to people who might not otherwise have access to it is necessary and this is a really unique, tech-forward solution.”
Ellsworth says she’s proud of the impact the lockers will have.
“The need is so great," she said. "Next week we’re facing children going back to school. We have so many pressures coming from every angle that families are having to wrestle with and to introduce something like this that might bridge the gap for additional families feels like a reason to celebrate.”
The lockers can be opened by people who are given a code to access the food inside. They were created and installed by Second Harvest of the Big Bend, Leon County Government and the city of Tallahassee.
