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Council extends lease at Airport Road to keep Food for Thought in Destin
Summary
The Destin City Council voted to extend the city-owned Airport Road building lease for Food for Thought Outreach Inc. through March 1, 2030, after the nonprofit requested continuity to preserve its food distribution operations for area schoolchildren.
The Destin City Council voted to extend the lease for Food for Thought Outreach Inc. at the city-owned building on Airport Road through March 1, 2030, under the same terms and conditions, after the nonprofit’s CEO told council losing the space would “devastate our ability to serve this community.”
The nonprofit’s founder and CEO, Tiffany Nelson, told the council the organization started in 2010 and now serves more than 3,600 children across two counties and distributes about $400,000 worth of food in a typical year. Nelson said the Airport Road location doubled the organization’s capacity and that volunteers and donors depend on the facility to assemble and distribute bags for students.
City Manager Larry Jones told council the original five-year lease entered in March 2020 had expired in March 2025 and that Food for Thought had an option to renew but had not timely exercised it. Nelson said she submitted a renewal letter as soon as she learned the option had been missed and asked the council to approve an extension under the existing terms.
Council moved, seconded and approved the extension. During discussion, several council members praised the organization’s work and described visits to the facility. Council members emphasized the nonprofit’s volunteer base and its role delivering year-round services to children from kindergarten through high school.
The extension keeps the nonprofit in the city-owned space under the same lease conditions previously in effect. The council did not adopt new financial terms; the vote was to extend the lease term only.
Impact and next steps: staff will process the lease extension paperwork and return to council with the executed agreement and any administrative items required to maintain the nonprofit’s occupancy through March 1, 2030.
“Losing this location would devastate our ability to serve this community,” Nelson said during her presentation.
Reported vote: motion carried; council announced the motion carried and the lease extension was approved.
