Volusia Sheriff’s Office Holding Food Distribution on Sunday

The Volusia Sheriff’s Office is holding a food distribution event this Sunday, the organization announced this week. The event is slated to take place at Daytona International Speedway from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Those planning to attend should go to the NASCAR Drive entrance to the speedway. SNAP identification cards should be brought, the VSO says. Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced that the VSO was working alongside a few key partners to make the distribution happen: the Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties, Daytona International Speedway, and Walmart. Together, these and other community benefactors are helping to address a lapse in assistance for the approximately 38,000 residents of Volusia County who rely on SNAP benefits. The Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) is being affected by the ongoing federal government shutdown. The longest shutdown in US history, the Trump administration is currently contesting court orders to release funds that would fund 100% of SNAP benefits, instead of their proposed 65% funding. For the VSO’s event, $15,000 has been donated by the Volusia Sheriff’s Foundation, Volusia Sheriff’s Youth Foundation, and the Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties. There will be a chance to drop off donations at the Speedway: Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The most needed items, the VSO says, are spaghetti, pasta sauce, mac and cheese, and peanut butter. Additionally, the following canned foods are encouraged to be donated: ravioli, pork and beans, tuna, and chicken. “I’m not being here politically when I say this, because I’m going to quote Ronald Reagan exactly: ‘in this present crisis the government isn’t the solution to the problem, the government is the problem’,” Chitwood said, referring to Reagan’s 1981 inaugural address. “How about all the people in the military and law enforcement who make this country run that aren’t getting that paycheck for 35 days now? Why are the pawns the regular people here while the people we elect to do our bidding are doing it on the backs of us?”