Miami Dolphins Food Relief Program Helps Small Businesses Reach Those In Need
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - During these difficult times many companies have struggled to stay afloat but thanks to the generosity of the Miami Dolphins and their food relief program they have made it and come out stronger.
"People don't care what you know until they know how much you care," said Chef Herbert Coleman with Seed Miami.
For Coleman, those are words to live by. The Miami native, along with Robert Thompson, created Seed Miami, a catering business and food truck.
Prior to COVID, Seed Miami could be found at some of Florida's most popular events including Super Bowl LIV and Rolling Loud. They also served at the Veteran's Hospital for two years.
But like many businesses during the pandemic, theirs too was hit hard.
"It was tough, it was very tough for me to the point that you had to focus on the next day," said Coleman.
Once the pandemic hit, everything changed. Now Coleman, along with his food truck and employees, is rolling in to feed those in need.
CBS4 caught up with Seed Miami at the Broward Outreach Center where they distributed 150 meals on Friday.
"This was definitely a major pivot for us and as a result, we are here feeding people," said Coleman.
None of that could have been possible if it wasn't for the generosity of the Miami Dolphins Foundation Food Relief Program.
"Stephen Ross and Vice Chairman Tom Garfinkel had the idea when we first knew it was going to be a different time during the pandemic. How could we impact the community each and every day, not just one event. So over the course this time we have a multimillion commitment to minority-owned businesses during this program. A thousand meals have come out of our stadium through Centerplate. We've done it for up to 12 months and we hope to extend it now as this need continues," said Jason Jenkins, Miami Dolphins Senior Vice President.
"This is an incredible opportunity that the Dolphins have presented to us, as an independent business owner in the food industry, they've allowed us to be a blessing to people in this time of need, " said Coleman.
To date, the program has distributed more than 445-thousand meals from local minority-owned restaurants and surpassed its million-dollar goal towards supporting minority-owned restaurants.
