Tallahassee meets community, stays prepared with ‘Feed the Need’ program

By: Brad Rowland

With Hurricanes Hermine, Irma and Michael making landfall in the area within the last half-decade, The Salvation Army of Tallahassee, Florida, is all too familiar with on-the-ground disaster work. With that as the backdrop, the Army saw an opportunity to both maintain its readiness for emergency disaster services and serve the population of Leon, Gadsden and Wakulla counties on a regular basis.

The result is the "Feed the Need" program, deploying each week to serve hot meals in the community and address an emerging local issue of food insecurity. Simultaneously, these deployments allow The Salvation Army to stay sharp, expanding a volunteer base and maintaining crucial equipment for a time when an immediate need arises.

"Our goals for ‘Feed The Need' are two-fold," said Julie Smith, social services program coordinator in Tallahassee. "First, we can meet the needs of people in our community that are in need of a hot meal. The other side is that the program is operated by our EDS volunteers. There is a lot that goes into it and there is a lot that people can learn by doing, rather than only going through the typical training, even if that part is also necessary."

In addition to vital EDS training that must take place with any volunteer, the "Feed the Need" program allows for a hands-on experience that also opens the door for regular engagement with The Salvation Army. Four teams of four individuals operate on a rotating basis, going into the community on Thursdays to serve after important preparation takes place. There are four distinct positions held by team members, ranging from crew chief to food service specialist, and deployment locations are predetermined, in conjunction with social services, to meet the greatest local need.

"This is a great way for us to meet a need in the community but also to simply be prepared for the future," said Lieutenant Ryan Meo, corps officer. "We're praised often for our response times in The Salvation Army and how quickly we're able to respond on the ground after an incident. With that said, people don't always realize the work that went in before it and all of the training and team building it takes to do it well."

The program launched in 2018 on a four-month basis, experiencing real success both in volunteer recruitment and critical service to the community. After a brief hiatus, "Feed the Need" launched in August 2019 with an expanded, four-team format, and plans include a year-round utilization.

Early returns have been exceedingly positive for volunteer engagement and the overall impact of the program and, with the dual purpose of aiding those with immediate needs, success is being achieved.

"I really think that this is a great solution to any potential EDS volunteer problem," said Smith. "I believe this program has solved that for us because these people are now ready to go when an incident occurs and, in the process, we're serving our community. This has motivated individuals in a fantastic way and people are getting involved."

"I think our disaster services program is uniquely able to engage stakeholders in the community as volunteers that other programs and services don't always seem to reach," Lieutenant Meo said. "Our disaster volunteers are sometimes people that we aren't able to engage with in other ways and, when we're able to allow people to be a part of The Salvation Army through a program like this, people serve with a sense of agency."