Bay Area residents affected by Hurricane Irma have one last chance to get aid without driving to South Florida.
The Food for Florida program is open through Wednesday in Pasco County.
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So far more than 10,000 people have come to the Pasco County Fairgrounds in Dade City and received some amount of assistance.
It’s been almost two months since Hurricane Irma, but those here said they are still in need.
Peter Finnell just found out about Pasco’s Food for Florida location Monday, a day after it opened.
“A neighbor called me this morning and told me how long it was going on and I just could’n’t pass it up.” By the time he got here, lines weren’t long at all. “After seeing what happened in Lakeland, I was expecting to be here all day.” Instead, he was in and out with the assistance he was hoping for in about 15 minutes. “It’s pretty quick, they’ve got it streamlined.”
Florida’s Department of Children and Families said the program is designed for those living on a fixed income like Steven Garner.
“We lost everything that was in our refrigerator and our freezer and this will help.”
Not everyone came out of the big tent happy. Donald Douglas drove three hours with his sister who was turned down for aid. “They say she makes two much money. Hey this is supposed to be for everyone.” But that’s not the case. Benefits are based on income versus amount of loss from Irma.
The Dade City set up comes two weeks after confusion sent dozens to the wrong place on the wrong day.
County leaders scrapped the original location in Land O’ Lakes at the last minute over crowd and traffic concerns.
But now it’s here in at the fairgrounds and Steven didn’t mind the delay in getting aid at all.
“Absolutely not. I wasn’t even expecting it,” said Garner.
There are programs open in Dade County and Broward County through Thursday.
