Big Bend Bites food drive helps Tallahassee families during spring break

Annual event provides boxes of fresh produce, protein, and pantry staples to alleviate financial burden of feeding kids at home

Mar. 15, 2026 at 12:20am

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The 7th annual Big Bend Bites food distribution event, a partnership between the Junior League of Tallahassee and Second Harvest of the Big Bend, provided 1,000 boxes of food to families in South Tallahassee to help them stretch their budgets during spring break when children don't have access to school meals.

Why it matters

For many families in the Big Bend region, spring break can mean a significant financial strain as they have to provide all meals for their children who are used to getting breakfast and lunch at school. The Big Bend Bites event aims to alleviate this burden by supplying families with essential food items during the school break.

The details

The Big Bend Bites distribution event provided boxes packed with meat, dairy, fresh produce, and pantry staples to families in the South Tallahassee area. Organizers say the goal is to help parents fill the gap left by the lack of school meals during spring break. Volunteers handed out the 1,000 available boxes, with the first car arriving around 10:30 pm the night before the Saturday morning distribution.

  • The 7th annual Big Bend Bites distribution event took place on Saturday, March 15, 2026.
  • Spring break for Tallahassee schools was scheduled to start the following week.

The players

Junior League of Tallahassee

A women's volunteer organization that partnered with Second Harvest of the Big Bend to organize the Big Bend Bites food distribution event.

Second Harvest of the Big Bend

A regional food bank that collaborated with the Junior League of Tallahassee on the Big Bend Bites event to provide food assistance to families in need.

Brady Creel

A parent of a family of five who benefited from the Big Bend Bites food distribution, noting that the extra food helped alleviate the financial burden of feeding his children during spring break.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“Both my family and my sister's family are decently sized. I'm a family of five and she's a family of six and with spring break coming up, doing breakfast, lunch and everything at home without the assistance of school, a food drive like this really helps with the financial burden.”

— Brady Creel, Parent

“During spring break, those kids who are used to getting breakfast and lunch at school aren't able to get that. With this food giveaway, we're able to help parents fill that gap and alleviate some stress on their pockets.”

— Brianna Rogers, Junior League of Tallahassee

What’s next

Organizers say they plan to continue the Big Bend Bites food distribution event annually to support families in the Tallahassee area during future spring breaks.

The takeaway

The Big Bend Bites event demonstrates the important role that community-driven food assistance programs can play in helping families meet their basic needs, especially during school breaks when children lose access to regular meals provided at school.