- December 15, 2025
Feed Flagler was wildly successful, feeding about 3,000 families the day before Thanksgiving.
Sandra Mullen and Chicks With Cans led the way, collecting 20,000 pounds of food. Since then, Mullen recently went on a trip to Orlando and was walking downtown.
“There was Bank of America and Wells Fargo and these huge corporate buildings,” she says. “And I’m walking down the street, and every five feet there was another homeless person.”
That day, Mullen also read a story on msnbc.com, which reported that Walmart stores have seen a spike recently on the first day of each month — when many people finally have access to their federal food assistance money.
Carol Johnston, Walmart’s senior vice president of store development, said in the story that 12:01 at night is a busy time for the store. The story also reports that 15% of Americans receive federal food assistance.
The scene of the homeless and reading that story reminded Mullen that poverty is omnipresent. Some people are critical of social services that breed dependency or that can be abused by people who don’t really qualify for benefits. She admits that the system is broken.
“But until we can figure out how to fix it, we can’t just shut it down,” Mullen says. “When people hear SNAP benefit or WIC, they automatically assume a negative connotation. … But when the economy took a turn that affected all of us, we really now see the benefit of those types of programs.”
To see the new face of poverty, Mullen says, look next door.
“This is your neighbor,” she says. “This is the person who sits next to you in the church pew. This is the person that you walk into at Publix that has couple of children, clean and nicely dressed.”
She continues: “This is not the same community that it was years ago. … There are 280 homeless school children in our school system.”
In addition to children, many seniors are in need.
“Most of the calls I get personally are from senior people living on Social Security, asking, ‘Where can I get food help?’ Saying, ‘I’m barely making it,’” Mullen says.
Among the ways to help is to donate or volunteer with the Grace Community Food Pantry. Call 586-2653.
