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CBS News Miami partners with South Florida nonprofits for hurricane supply giveaway
It's better to be prepared before a storm hits rather than having to go stock up on supplies during one.
That's why CBS News Miami helped participate in a hurricane supply drive where anyone who drove up got some water and non-perishable food for hurricane season. Saturday's event showed us how important a service like this is for families across South Florida.
Eric Bryant said his family usually spends $300 to $400 on hurricane preparedness.
"That ain't even enough," he said. "We don't even have money for hotels," Bryant said.
He told CBS News Miami his family is on a fixed income, so getting hurricane supplies for free here was a lifeline, so he came up from Homestead to Westchester.
"This is good," Bryant said. "You see how far we came to get this."
That's why CBS News Miami partnered with Neighbors 4 Neighbors, Farm Share, and Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) to distribute hurricane supplies.
CBS News Miami's team was there as people drove up, put their supplies in their trunks, and left.
"If a hurricane does hit. You already have the supplies you're going to need to take on this kind of event," said CBS News Miami Anchor Erika Gonzalez.
People started showing up as early as 6 a.m. Saturday — and the event didn't even start until 9 a.m.
"That just shows you that no one's gonna do that unless they're in need," said Katy Meagher, the CEO of Neighbors 4 Neighbors.
This was one of nine sites that were handing out hurricane supplies. And at this site alone, there were enough supplies to help 1,000 people.
The non-profits behind the event said they got the supplies through donations and support from local food banks.
"We're gonna be helping families with food for a couple days," said Erika Ruiz of GEM.
"It's more important now than ever to make sure that the community is getting food before the storm gets here," added Nick Rodriguez of the Farmshare Food Bank.
Organizers told CBS News Miami that if someone needs supplies and couldn't make it this weekend, their family can work with the Farmshare Food Bank to have supplies delivered to them.
