Home - Florida Impact

Here’s to 45 years of impact!

Florida Impact is established to increase access to healthy nutritious food for families in need.

1979

1987

In 1987 Florida Impact secured state funds for the establishment of the new Emergency Family Housing Assistance Program (EFHAP)

1989

Florida Impact and many of its school food service allies successfully persuaded the 1989 Florida Legislature to mandate the national School Breakfast Program when school is in in all of Florida’s elementary schools.

1987

Florida Impact was and still is part of a unique coalition of Florida for-profits and non-profits that sought to address the need for an affordable housing stock with a dedicated source of state funding. Florida Impact joined a large coalition that fought for and won a state trust fund dedicated to affordable housing, known as the William E. Sadowski Act of 1992.

1996

Florida Impact--in cooperation with the Florida Department of Education and the Washington-based Food Research and Action Center—published, A Recipe for Easing Childhood Hunger: A Guidebook to the Summer Food Service Program.

Florida Impact published What I Did This Summer ... Without Enough Food. The publication was the second in what would become a series of statewide hunger reports.

1998

Florida Impact uncovered an innovative way to leverage federal funds with private money to conduct aggressive food stamp outreach in Florida. Florida Impact opened a statewide, toll-free, tri-lingual help-line, through which individuals could be prescreened for food stamp eligibility. Florida Impact developed software that provided automated projections for FSP eligibility and monthly benefit levels.

1998

Florida Impact began offering two resources for those in need of food: The Florida Food Resource Directory www.flimpact.org This is a searchable database, which contains information about public and private food resources in each of the state’s 67 counties. The Food Stamp Helpline 1-800-224-3470. This is a statewide toll-free line, through which callers can be prescreened for food stamp eligibility and projected benefit levels in English, Spanish, or (with prior arrangement) Creole.

2001

Florida Impact operated a statewide, bilingual Food Stamp Help-line for six years; and over 68,000 families used it

2005

Florida Impact organized a network of leaders that drafted and passed the Willie Ann Glenn Act (WAG)— state legislation that requires summer food programs to operate in or near elementary schools where 50 percent or more children are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.

2006

Florida Impact has entered a formal partnership with Share Our Strength (SOS) and the Food Research and Action Center (both in Washington) to develop a blueprint for increasing access to federally funded hunger programs.

2006

Florida Impact, founded in 1979, celebrates its 30th anniversary!

Pictured here is Debra Susi
Previous CEO

2017

Florida Impact staff worked to create the School District Toolbox to be a resource for all Florida’s school districts. The Toolbox contains the following sections: - Best Practices for School Food Authorities - Streamlined Process for School Food Authorities - Implementing AMP in School Districts

The AMP School District Mentor Project Call Outline was created as a resource for both Florida Impact staff as well as other organizations.

2019

Florida Impact, founded in 1979, celebrates its 40th anniversary

2021

With a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm to School grant and community partners, Florida Impact implemented a Farm to Leon County Schools program at Fort Braden Elementary School in Tallahassee. By bridging the gap between local farmers and school cafeterias, Florida Impact aims to tackle rising obesity rates and ensure that school meals benefit children, schools, and local farmers. Visit www.floridaimpact.org to learn more.

2021

Florida Impact started the Finding Inspiration Together (FIT) project to provide free virtual courses on nutrition, exercise, and mindful activities to kids who are out of school. Florida Impact produced 30 videos covering various topics, such as MyPlate.gov, nutritious recipes, strength training, how to read food labels, the benefits of meditation, water safety, the importance of breakfast, nature walks, food hygiene. The videos were shared in groups (or "modules") each week so that kids could follow along and pace themselves. Florida Impact wants to continue creating and marketing this content. Visit www.floridaimpact.org/fit to learn more.

2021

With the Florida United Methodist Church and African Methodist Episcopal Church, 11th district, Florida Impact organized year-round, statewide Florida Advocacy Days training events aimed to amplify the voices of community advocates in our state legislature. Visit www.flumc.org/floridaadvocacyday to learn more.

2021

Florida Impact continued increasing access to fresh, healthy foods in Miami Gardens and surrounding communities with the City of Miami Gardens and the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant from the CDC. This year, as part of Florida Healthy Retail (FHR) www.floridahealthyretail.org . Florida Impact expanded our mission with the Homestead Food Access Coalition and Healthy Checkout by introducing the Miami Gardens Healthy Checkout project to address the lack of nutritious choices in supermarket checkout lines.

2021

As part of the Florida Healthy Retail Program and with community partners, Florida Impact established Homestead Food Access Coalition (HFAC), which is made up of local leaders in the Homestead area. The group regularly meets to share thoughts, concerns, and ideas around helping the local community have better access to affordable, nutritious food. These efforts will then be used to create recommendations for City and County leadership. Visit www.floridahealthyretail.org/coalition to learn more.

2021

Florida Impact collaborated with Bread for the World, Florida Policy Institute, Operation New Hope and other community partners to support a new bill for returning citizens that would allow those with drug trafficking offenses to qualify for SNAP. HB 6079/SB 762 lifts the outdated 'War on Drugs' era state ban on SNAP and TANF for people who have served their time for past drug trafficking convictions. Rep. Vance Alopius and Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez have sponsored this legislation. The move would reduce these individuals’ chances of reincarceration, help ensure a smoother transition into their communities, and save millions in taxpayers dollars.

2021

With the Florida Policy Institute, No Kid Hungry, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, and Feeding Tampa Bay, Florida Impact created a press release and a sign-on letter urging Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Department of Children and Families to enroll in the Summer Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program to obtain $820 million in federal pandemic food assistance for over 2 million hungry children. In addition, Florida Impact helped organize three media events with Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Commissioner Nikki Fried, including a successful press conference with our President/CEO Kim M. Johnson. This led to features on MSNBC, The New York Times, and a letter from U.S. Representative Al Lawson Jr. As a result, the state applied for the funding in October. Visit www.floridaimpact.org/post/summerpebt to learn more.

2022

The Getting Empowered Matters (GEMS) project is aimed at equipping youth and low income communities with tools and resources that mitigate barriers associated with hunger, access, and opportunity. Youth learn about community asset building, advocacy, food systems, food justice, career development, nutrition, and other topics.

2023

Healthy Checkout Policy Ordinance Through Florida Healthy Retail and partners like the City of Miami Gardens, we successfully advocated for the Miami Gardens Healthy Checkout Policy Ordinance, addressing the lack of nutritious choices in checkout lines. This policy aims to shift in-store marketing towards healthier options, holding large retailers accountable for promoting better choices. The campaign seeks to create a healthier shopping environment without restricting individual choice.

2024

Our success would not have been possible without the incredible community that surrounds us. To our donors, your generosity fuels our mission and allows us to expand our reach and impact. To our volunteers, your dedication and hard work are the heart and soul of our programs. To our partners and collaborators, your support and innovation drive our initiatives forward. And to our staff and board members your passion and expertise are the foundation upon which we build our efforts.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, we have accomplished so much, and together, we will continue to make a difference.