When Hurricane Milton swept through Florida last year, it left a trail of damage and uncertainty. Roads were blocked, power was out, and access to food and clean water became an immediate and dire concern for many families in my district.

In the days following the storm, I worked directly with Farm Share as it prepared and coordinated emergency food and supply deliveries. Even before the roads were fully safe to travel, the Farm Share team was already loading trucks and planning drop sites, ready to deliver essentials the moment it was possible. That kind of preparation doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of experience, strong partnerships, and a deep commitment to helping others.

Seeing that response up close gave me an even greater appreciation for the role Farm Share plays in Florida. I had known about the organization’s work as the state’s largest independent food bank, but witnessing it during a crisis made the impact much more real.

What’s just as important is the work it does year-round. Outside of storm season, Farm Share continues to serve families facing food insecurity. It reaches seniors living on fixed incomes, veterans, working parents, children, and others who are doing their best but still come up short as costs continue to rise.

Farm Share’s model works because it’s built on collaboration. The nonprofit partners with local farmers, volunteers, and community organizations to distribute food where it’s needed most. The organization does this work efficiently and compassionately, ensuring that every family is treated with dignity.

Supporting Farm Share means supporting the people of Florida. When the state invests in combating food insecurity, it’s investing in the well-being of our communities. It ensures that help is available during natural disasters and the quieter struggles so many families face every day. Farm Share turned the Legislature’s recent investment into 97 million meals for Florida families, including millions of pounds delivered within just seven days after major hurricanes landed.

I’m proud to support Farm Share and will continue to advocate for the resources it needs to carry out the important work that has served my constituents and millions of Floridians. When we invest in organizations like Farm Share, we invest in all Floridians—in their safety, resilience, and future.

That’s the kind of investment I’ll proudly continue to stand behind.

___

Sen. Jim Boyd represents District 20 and serves as Senate Majority Leader.

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Some voters in Escambia County had their polling place shift on the day of a high-profile Special Election. Now, Florida Democrats are alleging potential voter suppression by Republican leaders there.

Democratic congressional candidate Gay Valimont and Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried planned to hold a 1 p.m. press conference to decry the potential confusion.

“Jimmy Patronis and his surrogates are attempting to block voters because he failed to show respect for the people of this district and neglected to earn their trust or ask for their vote,” Valimont said.

Voters who normally cast ballots at Macedonia Baptist Church in Pensacola, Precinct 98 in Escambia County, found no way to vote there Tuesday. Instead, those voters had to drive two miles to St. John’s Divine Missionary Baptist Church, which isn’t listed as a voting location at all on the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections website.

“Voter suppression undermines the very foundation of our democracy. Every eligible voter deserves equal access to the ballot box, and I am committed to fighting for that fundamental right,” Gay said. “The voters of Escambia County Precinct 98 deserve nothing less.”

Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender said he has communicated with the Valimont location about the move in voting location for that precinct for weeks. He also said all voters in the precinct were notified of the change by mail with a specific notice and as part of sample ballots. For Republican voters eligible to vote in a January Primary, they were told of the precint move before that election, when the same alternative location was used. In addition to mail, he said a full page ad was published in the Pensacola News-Journal advising precinct locations and bolding this and four other precincts because the locations were different from in November.

Bender said the Macedonia Baptist Church let elections officials know after the November election that the location would no longer be available for use for voting. While a list of all precincts on the county website still lists the church as the Precinct voting location, a notice on the same website notes some locations may have changed. And Bender said if a voter put in their own address or personal information to find a proper voting location, the website would have identified the new address.

“That was within two weeks of general election,” he said. “We did try and find other locations in the precinct, but found one in an adjoining precinct.”

Escambia County leans heavily Republican. President Donald Trump won the countywide vote there in November with almost 59% of the vote to Democrat Kamala Harris’ under 40%. But Precinct 98 is the biggest Democratic precinct in the county. Harris won the precinct in November with more than 76% of the vote to Trump’s 22%.

Bender said about 1,900 Democrats are registered in the precinct, compared to 512 Republicans and 521 other voters.

The confusion came on Tuesday, the same day Valimont faces Republican Jimmy Patronis in a Special Election to replace former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Patronis, Florida’s former Chief Financial Officer, is the heavy favorite to win the district, which covers four counties. But Valimont has drawn significant attention to the race after raising $6.5 million for the Special Election, compared to Patronis’ $2 million.

As of noon, nearly 4,900 Republicans in Escambia County had voted in the Special Election, compared to nearly 2,800 Democrats.

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Standing alongside her husband, First Lady Casey DeSantis defended her Hope Florida initiative as lawmakers will debate the program’s fate later Tuesday.

“When somebody is in need of help, do you get a check for government assistance, and that’s where the story ends? Or can we help you on a pathway to economic self-sufficiency? Can we provide you with a lifeline of hope at the end of the day?” Casey DeSantis said at a press conference in Tallahassee.

She spoke less than three hours before the Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee is scheduled to debate a bill related to Hope Florida.

SB 1144, by Sen. Danny Burgess, codifies the Office of Hope Florida within the Governor’s Office.

The bill comes amid speculation about whether Casey DeSantis is running to replace her term-limited husband. Gov. Ron DeSantis is also feuding with Republican legislative leaders who have pushed back on his initiatives since this year’s Special Session on immigration reform.

The First Lady started Hope Florida in 2021 as to serve as “a connection point for community collaboration between the public and private sector, faith-based communities, and nonprofits,” the group’s website said.

The Miami Herald recently reported that “details surrounding its performance, personnel and separate fundraising arm have been vague.”

Both Ron DeSantis and Casey DeSantis were defiant in support of Hope Florida Tuesday.

“The possibilities are not even limited to other states copying,” the Governor said. “Both the First Lady and I have briefed both the President and Elon Musk about this as a way to produce better outcomes, but you could save a lot of money too when you’re looking at how some of these federal programs operate.”

Casey DeSantis said Hope Florida taps into church and faith groups.

“We have 16.5 million people of faith across this state, 20,000 institutions,” she said. “You think if they knew that mom was struggling and needed some help, how cool would it be if they could show up at her front doorstep with a plate of lasagna to say, ‘I heard you were going through some tough times. We got you.’ We can do that in the state of Florida.”

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