Page 66 - Superintendent Report 2023-24

Community Hunger Relief
School Food Service continued collaborating with the United Way of Palm Beach County Hunger Relief Advisory Council to
support hunger relief efforts for students and families.
In FY23, the District partnered with several organizations to provide support:

• The Palm Beach County Food Bank served 3,844 students through the “Weekend Meal Program” at 34 schools. They
also provided five school pantries throughout the District.
• Boca Helping Hands’ Box Program operated at 12 schools, serving 1,627 students.
• The Pan-Florida Challenge, through the Boys and Girls Club, provided backpacks to six schools. In addition, three
schools participated in backpack distributions directly. They served 546 students throughout the nine schools.
• Blessings in a Backpack provided food on the weekends to four elementary schools with 367 participating students.
• First UMC Jupiter-Tequesta backpack program supported by First United Methodist Church of Jupiter-Tequesta
members worked alongside the Jupiter community to provide nutritious food bags to 188 students of three
elementary schools.

The Living Hungry “Not One Hungry Homeless Student” program supported homeless students at 13 schools.

OneBlood in the District
The District had a unique opportunity to empower students and staff to save lives. Students and staff from the District
boarded OneBlood’s signature Big Red Bus to help save lives and donated over 3,603 units of blood during FY23. The District
helped over 10,809 patients, as each donation helps to save up to three lives.

This new five-year partnership with OneBlood, Inc. teaches people the vital role they hold in saving lives by becoming blood
donors. This agreement provides Educational Assistance and Scholarship Programs to students in participating schools,
and allocates funds to the District’s Risk & Benefits Management Department to be utilized for employee wellness efforts.

Blood Drives Hosted in the District during FY23
There were 22 high school campuses in addition to the Fulton-Holland Educational Services Center and Chuck Shaw
Technical Center that supported blood donations during FY23 with 70 blood drives.

66 // Superintendent Annual Report 2022 - 2023