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Res. No. 089-90-9116RESOLUTION NO.89-90-9116 A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH,FLORIDASUPPORTINGTHEFLORIDAFOODRECOVERY PROJECT. WHEREAS,the Florida Food Recovery Project obtains surplus food from various businesses,including food stores,markets,bakeries and similar enterprises,for distribution to the needy. WHEREAS,this food is then made available to needy persons throughout thearea;and WHEREAS,the City of South Miami,Florida wishes to show its support for this project and to encourage all its citizens,including its merchants, to support this project; ,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND THE CITY COMMISSION OFTHECITYOFSOUTHMIAMI,FLORIDA: Section 1.That Florida Food Recovery Project be,and hereby is, given the full support of the City of South Miami,Florida and all its citizens,including its merchants,are encouraged to support this meritorious project. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 12th day of June,1990. READAND APPROVED ASTOFORM CITY ATTORNEY APPROVED: TlJiyuf MAYOR ATTEST:C" /o May 30,1990 foodrScwery PROJECT Ms.Rosemary Wascura City Clerk Cityof South Miami 6130 Sunser Drive South Miami,Florida 33143 Dear Ms.Wascura: Itwasapleasurespeakingwithyou today.Asperyour suggestion I am enclosing Dade League of Cities'resolution #90-91 endorsing Florida Food Recovery Project and a similar resolution from Sweetwater asan example. PleasehaveMayorMcCannorother Councilpersons sponsor asimilarresolutionfortheCityofSouth Miami.Please forward a copy tome. This,of course,is only the first step in establishing coordination to effectively "endthe waste of "food". I'd appreciate if you could coordinate a meeting with the Mayor and/or other interested councilpersons so that we can evaluate the potential ofyour involvement. Vie will have 50,000 pounds of prime USDA foods coming in very soon.I'd like to discuss that distribution as soon as possible. Sincere best wishes Steve Michelson Executive Director 1000 Quayside Terrace.#1711,Miami.Florida 33138 •305/895-0253 Donations are IRS approved tax-deductible /o Floimda Food Recovery Project FOOD DISTRIBUTION HRS FOOD DISTRIBUTION OFFICE February 24.1990 AGENCY NUMBER OF FAMILIES SERVED Bethany Community Service Center Share A Meal Metro-Dade Community Centers(25Centers) DadeCountySpecial Development Sisters of Charity Good Samaritan Church Saint Annfs Mission Convent Hermaneo dB la CaKaidad Centro Campecino NewLife Regeneration Emmanuel Church of God Better Way Foundation Bible Baptist Church Liberty City Youth Families Missionaries of Charity ChristianFaithFellowship New Horizons Homeless Project New Horizons King Heights Plaza New Horizons Day Treatment Center Haitian Emmanuel Baptist Church His Tender Mercies Words of Life Christian Church Mount Carmel God's Kitchen #2 City of North Miami Beach Children's Home Society Saint Luke's Drug Rehabilitation Hope Ministries Agape Ministries Temple Beth Sholom NewDay Outreach Center Saint Michael's Catholic Church SweetHome Missionary Baptist Church Sisterof Charity Vincent dePaul Our Lady of Divine Providence Officer Fernandez -Foster Home Care Sergeant DiBernardo -Donations Baxter House Missionary Evangelic Center Metro-Dade Youth §FamilyDevelopment EvelioBarriel-CalebFamilyServices 64 AGENCIES 200 100 2,500 250 200 50 500 400 600 50 100 250 100 50 150 1,000 100 100 100 100 100 250 200 700 100 100 250 200 100 50 150 100 100 100 50 50 100 200 100 100 10,000 FAM Michelson devotes life toproject FOOD,FROM IB fatherofthe recovery project. Anda•fleeting moment.Today, morethan likely,he will be back on the phone,pleadingforsupport,for volunteers,fora refrigerated truck andfax machines and,most impor tantly,forfood. "I think Mr.Michelson should be madeintofood czar of Florida,"said former Miami Beach Commissioner BenGrenald,who persuaded his friend tostart the project. Asa commissioner,Grenald coor dinated "clean-a«thons"along MiamiBeachand Biscayne Bay.He discovered food warehouses were throwing outdated,but stillfresh, foodin the bay.About that time Michelson,51,was looking fora communityprojectand Grenald sug gestedhe start the food recovery project. Michelson,who made his money withmedial inventions,put away his golf clubs.He stopped swimming, joggingandplaying tennis.That was 15 months ago.,"V So far,he has convinced Publix,, Winn-Dixie,Sunand other stores to donatesome of the food they would throwaway.Hehas distributed more than $2 million infood to 141 social service agencies,striking' Eastern machinists and migrant workers.In October,the project contracted to distribute food from a USDA subsidy program twice a month. For the first 10 months,Michel son did most of the work himself in a leasedvan.Hebeganat4a.m.mak ing the rounds —to doughnut shops,bakeriesand grocery stores. Volunteers help A small core of volunteers helps now,andsomeagenciesare asked. topickup the.food themselves.No one is'paid.Michelson pays or pleadsfor stationery and other sup plies.•> His high-rise Quayside condomin-' ium has become a sort of headquar ters —a typewriter propped on the : diningroom table,ledgers,note booksandfliers littering alargeliv ingroom.A freezer was installed next to the bar,not for drinks but for emergency food rations. /o- "Sometimes asocial worker calls and says,'I heard about you.Ihavea family that needs food.'Inever say no to anyone,"Michelson said. The phone andtypewriterare never far. "He calls me atallhours of the dayand night,"said Metro police Sgt.Jim DiBernardo,who gathered students fromfive schools for Satur day's packing."He calls me at 11 at night.Hecalls me at6in the morn ing.Hehas people calling me.AllI sayis *yes»yes.'" The food recovery project helped Temple Beth Sholom begin aSun day morning feeding program.It now handles 400 familiesin South Beach. .."He gave us access to virtually all the food we receive,"saidRabbi GaryGlickstein. Each family getsa bag of grocer ies.Initially,the synagogue had planned onservingapeanut butter and jelly sandwich andapple. "The ideaofitisincredible," Glicksteinsaid."The fact that there remains all of those dated items whicharestillverynutritiousand we're throwing them outasasoci ety andnotmakinguseof them is criminal." The Children's Homehas receivedmorethan $28,000 worth of food inthepastyear,feeding neglected and abused children and teen-agers in shelters. "First,wehadmostlybreads," saidexecutivedirector Mary Louise Cole."Thensomeofthe expensive stuffstartedtocomein.When you get16dozeneggs,that really helps." Frustrating search But Michelsonis frustrated.Gro cery chains are reluctant to allow himtopickup food fromevery store,althoughhehas insurance donated from a firm and stateAgri culture Commissioner DoyleCon ner wrote abetter on behalf of Michelson,reassuring grocery stores that his department hadno objectionto the collection. Publix agreed :to givehim food fromtwo stores onatrialbasis."At thistime,untilwegetsomeresults, I've chosen notto expand,"said Bob • Burkett,assistant director of retail operations for Publix., Metro commissioners turned down a request for a refrigerated truck.Michelson askedcorpora tionsandagenciestowhichhedis tributes for helpingettingthetruck andastoragefacility—buthadno success. Publixagreedtogivehim food from two stores ona trial basis."At ,thistime,untilwegetsomeresults, I've chosen nottoexpand,"saidBob- Burkett,assistant director ofretail operations forPublix.. Metro commissioners turned downarequestfora refrigerated truck.Michelsonasked corpora- •tions and agencies towhichhedis tributesforhelp In gettingthetruck anda storage facility—buthadno success. 'Michelson understands that his is a new charity,andpeopledon't want to give to the unknown.Butheis upset that an estimated $30million worth of foodisbeing thrown away 'in Dade. Even ifall that foodwas available, hecouldnotpickitallup.Hedoesn't have enough volunteers." Other agencies,suchastheSalva tion Army,relyon the DailyBread Food Bank —which sells donated foodat12 cents apound—because they don't know when the recovery project will have foodfor them. "We payfor the convenienceof going just onedaya week andhav ing everything there,"said Cindy Flachmeier,director of social ser vices for the Salvation Army. The recovery projectdoesnot compete with the 8-year-oldDaily Bread Food Bank.The food bank receives most of its items from wholesalers and farmers,said exec utive director Howard Caweih. Hated business Although hetalksandactslikea businessman,Michelson saidhe retired early because hehatedbusi ness.Besides,investments and inventions he had made left him comfortable enoughto have,todo without work. Born in Brooklyn,hewasnot wealthy growing up.Hecameto Miami in 1962.He wanted to be a golfpro,sohepracticedduringthe dayand worked asapharmacistdur ingat night. He didn't make itingolf,butdid wellin the pharmacybusiness, eventually owning a company that madeorthopedicdevices.Hemade a fortune with Velcro,usine it to patent 160 .different medicalprod ucts —splints,neck braces,slings. Yes,he gavetocharity."Iwrote my check for $100,"hesaid,laugh ing."I felt very goodaboutit.Itwas embarrassing.UntilIwas 50,1 gave very little of my substance." li«T«-|Wltt« SbeiMiami5HeraR> CHARLES TRAINOR JR./Miami Herald Staff FLORIDA FOOD RECOVERYPROJECT:Millie Pochet,center,helpstobag100,000 pounds of surplus foodatCoralPark High School. SECTION SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25,1990 F-2 Volunteers save food and families By LOURDESFERNANDEZ Herald Staff Writer The Florida Food Recovery Pro ject,which feeds the hungry with surplus food and groceries about to be dumped, measured its success Satur day in bags: 10,000 of them, end to end in neat rows across the Coral Park High School parking lot. More than 100,000 pounds ,of food-beans,Michelson mashed potatoes and canned juices —Filled the bags.The foodwentto 70DadeagenciesandHomestead migrant workers left without jobs after the Christmas freeze. About 200 students,recruited by Metro-Dade school resource offi cers,turned out ona breezy morn ingto pack the bags. Itwasa proud moment for retired businessman Steve Michelson, PLEASESEE FOOD.3R $ Man teeds the hungry By DAN FROOMKIN Herald Stall Writer Sieve Michelson is a one-man army in the fight to feed Miami Beach's hungry and homeless., For the past month hehasspent day and night retrieving edible but outdated food from area grocery stores and taking it in his van to such places asthe Stanley Myers HealthCenterandLutheranMinistries. This isa big change for Michelson,a oO- year-old self-acknowledged rich person who made his first fortune by designing and man ufacturing medical splints and braces,bmce then,hehas designed space-age aquariums andhigh-nutrientpasta. Recently,aftersix months of relaxation -fishing and playing golf —Michelson "couldn't find any reason to go and make more money."hesaid. Then during a talk with Beach Commis sioner Ben Grenald,an old friend,Michelson got his inspiration.Grenald pointed out that although many people on the Beach are go ing hungry,stores throw out a lot of food ev ery day that could feed them.Using Grenald's idea and stationery,Mi chelson set out on a project that has now be come a wondrous obsession for him. 'Tin consumed byit,"Michelson said.He works seven days aweekandcant stop even for a day."1 can't stand to know hat one day I'm not doing it,the food will be thrown out."., He getsgreat joy from giving,he said. "I really feel a glow of spirituality that I've never experienced in my life,"he said While making his pick-ups,from about lb food stores from South Miami to North Dade,he sometimes stopshis van to give the food directly tothe homeless. One day recently,he saw a large man with one eye searching through ga^Kf- Michelson gave the man two loaves ofbread. "He said,'You're a big man,and engulled my hand in his I can still feel it." Among the food stores that give Michel son products:several Winn-Dixie and Pantry Pride stores,and Napoh Pasta Co.in South Miami,which donates odd-shaped pasta pieces ideal forsoups. Altogether.Michelson picks up and dis tributes several hundred loaves of bread a day along with several dozen jugs of milk, boxes of cookies,cakes,dented cans and cas es of cottage cheese,fruits and vegetables. Drop-off points also include Federation Towers and the South Shore Community The milk is generally a day older than the anu ins soui DONNA E.NATALE /Miami Herald Bo.ando Pcrczc helps Steve Michelson.left,distribute food at Myers Health Center. sale date printed on their labels;the bread is sometimes a little older than that.But it s all safe and good,Michelson said.The people who get the food agree.I m very grateful for it."said Eileen Hamilton. 32 who was at the Stanley Myers clinic re cently getting a check-up for her newborn boy Hamilton picked up a half-gallon of milk and two loaves of white bread while she was thprp"I'm not picky,"Hamilton said."Food is food.If you've got it,great."The milk being a day too old didn't bother her.she said. "It'll be gone in no time anyway." "ThisisSanta Claus,"said Sol Lichter. chairman ofthe clinic's board,of Michelson. "He may not look like it,but heis." Michelson.who was raised Jewish,prac ticed Buddhism then married a Catholic woman,now finds himself point man for a newly created group called he Coalition of Relicious Leaders of All Faiths. The group includes representatives from the Miami Beach Community Church,lem- ple Beth Sholom,the Church-by-the-bea and Lutheran Ministries,a South Beach social service agency.Michelson said he is delighted to be part of an inierfaith effort."When anyone says that a religion sets them apart from some one else,it hurts me."he said. But he realizes he can only keep this pace, alone,for so long."1 would love to have vol unteershelp me,"hesaid. Volunteers would join what Michelson calls the Edible Food Rescue learn,which he also calls "363."That number repre sents the fact that he and his team will work that many days of the year,choosing no to work on Thanksgiving and Christmas,two days when a variety of organizations pop up to help the hungry. Michelson said there ate at least 1,000 stores in Dade County that could be conti ib- uting food.Mo.e volunteers,with vans, could tapthat nunkel. So as happy as he is.Michelson is hoping for a sign,he said."1 feel like 1would really like to dedicate my hie to this,if other people want me to." Living Today MONDAY,OCTOBER 30,1989 THE MIAMI HERALD SECTION C /o FRED TASKER Why doesn't outdated food feed"the poor? teve Michelson cringes when he sees grocery clerks pour bleach over outdated cheese •for fear of lawsuits if hungry peo pleclimbinto dumpsters for it.Mi chelson,51,an inventor,is living offhis savings to spend full time on the newFood Recovery Project. He and 10 volunteers with vans pick up food from bakeries and markets and take it to missions, homes and halfway houses. They've saved $1million worth of foodthis year but have seen $30 million worth perish needlessly. He says new Good Samaritan laws and a formal statement by Agricul ture Secretary Doyle Conner calling such food "safe and edible",make s liability fears groundless."We't haven't hada bellyache yet."He needs volunteers,trucks,storage, at 895-0253.-"