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Flagler County commissioner advances $50,000 in emergency food aid ahead of Thanksgiving
Summary
Commissioner Petito said she advanced $50,000 from county pooled expenditures to help local food banks amid delays in federal benefits, presented $20,000 to Grace Community Food Bank and said staff will allocate the remaining $30,000 by week'end under HHS grant-style agreements.
Commissioner Miss Petito told the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners on Nov. 17 that she used her authority to make $50,000 available from pooled county expenditures to help local food banks while some federal assistance programs experienced delays.
Petito said roughly 11,700 people in Flagler County rely on SNAP or EBT benefits and estimated that about 7.4% of county households who receive those benefits were affected by recent federal program pauses. She said she presented a $20,000 check to Grace Community Food Bank and that the county and community partners helped the foodathon raise more than $116,000 in donations.
"It is within my authority, so I had wanted to go ahead and make the $50,000 available, out of our pooled expenditures," Petito said during the meeting. She described working with the county HHS department and community paramedicine to survey food banks countywide and said staff will use an HHS-style grant agreement to allocate the remaining $30,000 to a balanced list of food providers in Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, Bunnell and other areas.
Petito said the county hopes to identify recipients and distribute funds in advance of Thanksgiving and will ensure agreements specify how the money is used. The board did not receive public comment on the matter and then approved the consent agenda that included related items.
The county did not provide detail in the meeting about the exact distribution formula, the names of all recipient food banks beyond Grace Community Food Bank, or long-term funding plans; Petito said staff would return with paperwork and follow-up documentation.
