Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, Joel malkoln Ford w j n O dot com
and we are on the line with Michael Barnett. Name
might sound familiar with you. He is a now former
Palm Beach County Commissioner and if you go back a
little bit further than that, the chair of the Republican
Party of pom Beach County have Michael Barnett joining us
now now director of development with Restoration Bridge International, a
(00:22):
local nonprofit five oh one c UH here in Palm
Beach County based out of West Palm. Thank you for
joining me.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Pleasure to be with you.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
So, uh, let's let's talk about a little bit about
the uh your nonprofit here, and then I kind of
want to I want to harke him back a little
bit and uh if you don't mind, and share a
little bit about your time on the UH on the
County commission. We know you were appointed to a seat
from by Governor De Santis and you did run for
(00:55):
election to a full term and unfortunately, uh unsuccessful there.
But let's start with this new How did this new
position come to be at Restoration Bridge International?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Well, I only had two years as a commissioner, but
it was an amazing two years successful, maybe not in
getting re elected, but in the work we did in
my office, and part of that was getting to meet
agencies and organizations on the ground in my district and
around the county that were helping people who were very
much in need. Restoration Bridge International was one of those groups.
(01:31):
After after the election, I got to meet with some
of the board directors and they offered me a position
of Restoration Bridge International Director of Development. I helped get
attention for the organization. Like I was saying before, the
more people who know about Restoration Bridge International and our
efforts to help people meet their food needs. There's a
(01:53):
lot of folks in our community who are suffering from
food insecurity. The more people who know about the work
we do, I think, the more will want to help
and get involved. Restoration Bridge we redistributed about seventeen million
pounds of food and least of it to redistribute that
much and more, and just this year alone, about one
hundred thousand families, our people in Pumbi's County benefit from
(02:18):
the work that Restoration Bridge does, collecting food and distributing
it to about two hundred and fifty different pantries and
food drives all around the county. It's the great people
running this group. It's volunteer based. There's some paint staff,
a very low overhead, but ninety seven cents out of
every dollar that we receive those to our food programmers.
(02:40):
It's a great group and I'm very proud to be
a part of it. I was whole has when they
invited me to join.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
For those who and this is this is a nonprofit
for those I'm looking at the website right now at
Restoration Bridge dot com. Now we'll put a link up
on our website where folks you're listening to this full interview,
but folks can click through and check it out. But
I'm looking at the story of the founder. So there
is a Christian background to this nonprofit. Tell me about
(03:12):
what you know about Pastor Daniel West.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
He's one of the first I met with Restoration Bridge
at a food drive they were hosting in Lake Worth,
I believe it was Church by the Glades. He's a
really wonderful man, a great leader. He was with Jason Mandel,
the current executive director of Restoration Bridge, to a partner
with Feeding America, Farm Fair and the local churches like
(03:38):
Church by the Glades christ the redeemer of many other
organizations including you know we brought food drives to the
Senior Resource Center in my district. He has a great
heart for people helping meet the needs of families, especially
women and children who are in most need of good
(03:58):
nutritious food. We take it for granted many of us.
We can go to the supermarket and collect what we need,
but a lot of folks have to line up in long,
long lines of cars at these food drives every week
every Saturday to make ends meeting so they don't have
to worry about paying rent or taking care of their
(04:18):
electric bill in addition to getting groceries. Dan West had
a vision that's being carried out by the people running
Restoration Bridge to this day and again it is a
privilege is to be part of it.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
So explain to me how it works. How you do
your collections and how you do your the donation. So
you do your collections and then you get the food
to the people who need it. So how does it work?
From step one on?
Speaker 2 (04:44):
Well, early in the morning at our warehouse which the
sheriff for Pombe's County. We have a great partnership with
Sharet bransh on PBS so at the stock k we
have a warehouse where truckloads of food palettes of food
coming from supermarkets from farms throughout Palm Beach County, including
Peril Farms as one of them, volunteers removed the items,
(05:07):
bring it to the warehouse, we organize it, palletize it
and then ship it back out with our fleet trucks
and truck drivers sending it to food paint trees from
boglades who point in right here in Lake Worth, every
corner of Palm Beach County, and that these are volunteers
who sort the food, bag it up and distribute it
(05:28):
to people who drive up in their cars. They register
at the time, so we make sure that people are
getting the food and it's being distributed equitably and fairly
to everybody who needs it. Andate the operation every single day.
And the biggest drive we have is on Saturday mornings
(05:48):
at the Point in Beach mall. I was participated in
last week's drive, fifteen hundred families driving up collecting for
all morning. Operation skins at four in the morning and
doesn't go until everyone who needs food has come by
or until we run out. Unfortunately, we need more food.
(06:12):
We need more volunteers, We need resources to pay for
the minimum overhead and cost of operation. But that's why
they brought me on board to help get exposure for
Restoration Bridge International, to let people know about the great
work that we're doing every single day, not just at
the big food drive on Satterday, but at the local
pantries that we host, church partners and or organizations around
(06:35):
the county.
Speaker 1 (06:36):
All right, as far as the let's talk about the
event every Saturday throughout the year, that's correct.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
This Saturday at the Point and Beach Mall near the
Old Seers Center adjacent to the Christ Fellowship Church. Come
on out. We start distributing food around eight forty five
between eight forty five and nine am, and then we
continue until the food runs out. I would love for
anyone who would like to help volunteer to reach out
to Restoration Bridge dot com and sign up with us,
(07:08):
or if you might to donate to help thanks for
the cost of overhead, or just come out and see
what we're doing. If you need food, absolutely come on
over and get in line.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
How do you get the food?
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Organizations like Paer of Farms, they make deliveries to our warehouse.
We receive deliveries from sprouts other groups. We partner with
Feeding America, which is also Feeding Florida and Feeding South Florida.
Partnerships with them, but they deliver food to us and
(07:40):
then we send it out to the pantries and food
drives out our volunteers organized throughout the county.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
Okay. Now, as far as for the UH for the
need for volunteers and the need for I mean, are
you you're are you looking for food donations, volunteers, all
of the above.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
All the above, but in particular if you have warehouse experience,
you know how to operate a forklift, or if you
can drive a truck and you have your trucking license,
or if you are free to visit a food distribution
site and help bag and separate and distribute food. We
used to call us contact us. We definitely need to
(08:26):
help volunteers and also financial resources. If you're willing to donate, give.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Us a number that somebody could call for more information.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
If you'd like to reach out and volunteer or provide
some support or get involved, you can call five six
one two two three nine two one.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Zero, Okay. And then there's also a number you could
donate by texting the word give give to UH five
six one six nine eight six three six. If you're
just looking to UH to donate, I would assume that
would be financial donations.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Absolutely please, so I'd encourage you give. This is a
great organization and we helped so many people. One out
of every five kids in this county is food and
secure and Restoration Bridge. They're volunteers for years, have been
working for twenty years, have been working to meet that needs.
Please help.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Thank you, Michael. What do you do you miss? What
do you miss most? It's going back to your commission
days and you did I think you said you spent
two years on the commission and what would you say
you miss most?
Speaker 2 (09:24):
Well? I miss being in the community on the ground
and meeting with leaders PbSO, the folks that they were
helping through homeless intervention, homeless outreach and really a lot
of the stuff that you don't need to be a
commissioner to do. That's why I got involved with Restoration
Bridge and the International. I love helping people and using
(09:46):
my resources and relationships and connections to help organizations like
Restoration Bridge. I do miss working with the people in
my office. We had a great office staff who are
now doing other things with the county, and you know,
it's a great job. I had a good working relationship
with my fellow commissioners the you know, religion partisan, we
(10:11):
didn't get into party politics when it came to county business.
And I had a good relationship with Aria Saxman and
Marino great Pie, Sarah Baxter, Marson Woodward, Matt Bernard. This
is really really great people to work with and gained
a new perspective on public service. I would love to
have served another term, but things happened for a reason.
(10:33):
I think for me personally, it was a blessing ending
my term on a high note, even though only after
two years. Because there's a whole, great, big world out there.
I wouldn't have ended up working with Restoration Bridge, I
wouldn't be with palm Me State College. I was also
appointed to serve on the board of Trustees. You know,
(10:54):
working for the county is great. I'm always going to
try to do everything I can in my current capacity
to help the people I got to know so well
over the past two years on the ground in the community.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
All Right, well, we appreciate you joining us, and definitely
appreciate the work you did as a commissioner, and also
of course the work you're doing as Director of Development
with Restoration Bridge International. Michael Barnett here on wj ando
dot com. Thanks again.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
I appreciate it very much. Thank you, Joe,