BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Boca Helping Hands is expanding its services north into Boynton Beach to help more people across Palm Beach County as many continue to be in need of emergency services.
Boynton Beach residents can now take advantage of emergency financial assistance to help pay rent, utilities, and childcare costs through the Boca Helping Hands Resource Center, previously limited to Boca Raton residents.
Boca Helping Hands hopes to then expand to the Lantana and Lake Worth area.
To apply for help, documentation must be submitted to Boca Helping Hands and is reviewed on a case-by-case basis. For more information, click here..
Boca Helping Hands is also expanding its food distribution in Boynton Beach from four days a week to five days.
The organization began the pantry bag program in Boynton Beach in 2017. In the first month, they distributed 355 bags of food. Fast forward to last month, and that number has grown to more than 1500.
The organization distributes the food at First Baptist Church of Boynton Beach on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The additional distribution is now being held at St. John Missionary Baptist Church on Wednesdays from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
You can find more information about the pantry bag program by clicking here.
"We are really grateful for the community coming together and supporting us in such a way that we've been able to extend the blessings through financial resources to other people in our community, and we're looking as we expand our programs to get into more areas of Palm Beach County so we can help more people," said Bill Harper, Director of Food and Warehouse Operations.
He says at the start of the pandemic, they saw a 40% increase in the number of people who needed food.
"The good news is we've stabilized now to the point where that large of a number is no longer existing, but we still maintained a higher number than we did a year ago, there's a lot more people who are in need of food and now financial assistance," said Harper.