Alachua County approves $5,000 reimbursement for Strike Out Hunger Thanksgiving giveaway

The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners voted 4–1 on Feb. 9 to reimburse the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission $5,000 for its Strike Out Hunger Thanksgiving basket giveaway.

Pastor Gloria Hutchinson, grants writer for the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, told the board the program distributed more than 900 Thanksgiving baskets last year and coordinated donations of thousands of pounds of food. "The Thanksgiving basket giveaway program provided both nonperishable and perishable food to the working poor and low income wage earners," Hutchinson said while outlining the program’s history and outcomes.

Commissioner Cornell said he supports the program but urged the board to treat such awards as one-time grants unless a renewal is explicitly budgeted. "I view these as kind of one-time awards, not something to renew year after year — if we want that to happen it should be in the budget," Cornell said.

Commissioner Byerley and others expressed concern about the board’s process for making ad hoc awards, emphasizing the need for transparency and competitive procedures for public funding. Commissioner Marley said he would not support the motion on principle, calling for a more competitive, transparent process for public money.

Chair Hutchison called for the vote; the motion passed 4–1, with Commissioner Byerley recorded in dissent. The approval authorizes reimbursement from the county’s event program support fund to cover nonperishable food purchases documented in the request.

The board’s discussion flagged a policy question for future budget talks: whether rapid-response or one-time grants should be converted into recurring, budgeted programs subject to the county’s competitive award processes. The manager said staff will make future agenda items more transparent about prior awards.