Local nonprofit pivots in midst of pandemic to better serve community in need

Good News Notes:

A local nonprofit is pivoting their programming to keep up with the needs of the community they serve, as they continue to face tough times during the pandemic.

Before March, the main focus of El Sol The Jupiter Neighborhood Resource Center was to operate a labor center. Workers registered with the Labor Center would show up on the days they were available for work. Then, they’d match the workers with contractors and homeowners who needed workers with their skill set.

Suzanne Cordero, the executive director of El Sol, says the nonprofit always had a food and nutrition program, but it wasn’t until the pandemic hit that they realized just how much they need for hunger relief assistance had skyrocketed.

So they shifted focus, expanding to a food distribution site where three days a week they would give away bags of groceries to workers and their families. They also offer a free warm breakfast every day along with a packed lunch to-go.

They even took their feeding program one step further, offering several options to better accommodate the workers.

‘Many of our clients have to walk or ride their bikes. There’s only so much they can carry with them and our bags were heavy with produce and everything, so we also partnered with one of the Hispanic supermarkets here. We partnered with a couple of local restaurants, Publix and we had gift cards that we could give to them so it was easier to carry that with them and get what they needed,’ said Cordero.”

View the whole story here: https://cbs12.com/news/local/local-nonprofit-pivots-in-midst-of-pandemic-to-better-serve-community-in-need

Leave a Reply