Free health expo, food giveaway attract hundreds

By St. Clair Murraine

Outlook staff writer

Not long after he arrived at the Greater Love Church, Donald Thomas was in a chair on the front lawn having his blood pressure checked.

The result was favorable and he set out to get a pancake breakfast just a few feet away. Thomas also grabbed a box of food from the stack that was being given away last Saturday morning.

Being a Southside resident, Thomas said he couldn’t sleep in and miss the opportunity, especially since it was a way to get health information

“The Southside does suffer disproportionately and this on one way we try to balance it,” Thomas said. “I benefitted today because I got my blood pressure checked and I got some great food.”

Many more people showed up during the three-hour health expo put on by the South City Foundation. Breakfast was provided by the Tallahassee Peacemakers Initiative, a service organization.

Second Harvest of the Big Bend gave away boxes of food, while health organizations used the event to reach people on the Southside who otherwise might not have gotten the information that they provided.

Part of the problem in reaching South City residents with information that was provided Saturday is a digital divide. Christic Henry and Clifford Jackson handle community engagement for the foundation daily in the area that the event targeted.

“You’ve got to knock on their doors and our staff has been on the ground doing that,” said Sen. Loranne Ausley, co-chair of the Foundation. “We are listening to the people and meeting them where they are. That’s what today is about.”

In its effort to reach residents of the area, the Foundation has bulletin boards in the Orange Avenue Apartments complex and in a mini park at the corner of Meridian Street and Orange Avenue.

Participants in the event also included Big Bend Area Health Education Center, Leon County Department of Health, Big Bend Cares, Florida Blue and Bond Community Health Center.

“What we are most excited about today is the collaboration and the chance to work with a number of non-profits who want to focus on servicing our Southside communities, our Frenchtown community,” said Monique Van Pelt, CEO Second Harvest of the Big Bend. “This is a chance for us to provide a holistic service.”

Bringing the agencies to within walking distance of residents in the area was also essential, said Courtney Atkins, Executive Director of South City Foundation.

“The fact that we’ve been in this pandemic lockdown and many folks (in the neighborhood) do not have cars, we are bringing this information to them,” she said.

The scene leading up to the venue has become familiar, as cars lined from Orange Avenue, onto Meridian and Polk streets. The heavy turnout has been consistent since last spring when the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, causing mass unemployment.

It has been especially tough on people who live in food deserts. An estimated 68,000 people, including 16,000 children live in food insecure areas, Van Pelt said.

The need for food seemingly has gone beyond those numbers since the pandemic outbreak.

“If we were to go out and survey every person here in line today, it is likely that 40 percent of people coming through this line had never needed (food) at any point in their past,” Van Pelt said. “These are new people who because of COVID-19 find themselves in a place where their financial security (and) their food security are all at risk. 

“The profoundly negative impact of the pandemic is being played out and it’s visually apparent when you come to food distribution.”

The South City Foundation will continue its effort to help people on the Southside get through the holidays by hosting a Coat giveaway and a holiday meal on Dec. 23. They’re anticipating another big turnout.

“The big thing is we can make a difference,” said Jackson, “we can make a change in the people.”