Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Dolphins Deliver with Food Relief Program
The Miami Dolphins began their Food Relief Program at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday, and Head Coach Brian Flores, General Manager Chris Grier and Vice Chairman/President/CEO Tom Garfinkel all were on hand to help out.
Under the program, which was announced last week, the Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and the Miami Dolphins Foundation will provide 1,000 meals every day for at least the next year.
The donations will take place at Hard Rock Stadium every weekday and will be done through local restaurants and churches on weekends.
“Leadership is about service," Flores said. "To have a platform and an opportunity to serve the community, to serve players, coaches, my family, the children of South Florida and everywhere, I don’t take that lightly.
“There’s leaders everywhere — in our home, our schools, whether it’s teachers, whether it's parents, coaches, if we can all take an opportunity to serve and doing so we will bring people together and ultimately will create some change. What we’re doing in helping to feed families of South Florida is incredible. I’m honored to be a part of that.”
The Dolphins will invest $2 million in the project and will work to raise an additional $1 million by matching all dollars raised by the South Florida community and Dolphins fans worldwide, for a potential total funding of $4 million.
Said Garfinkel: “Steve (Ross) said to me, ‘Tom, race relations in this country are not good right now. Unemployment is at an all-time high. Now is the time to help people. Let’s put together a program to try to help those who need food in our own backyard in Miami Gardens.’”
After Flores addressed the killing of African-American George Floyd at the hands of a while police officer in Minneapolis last week, Garkfinkel said he felt the need to talk about the issue of race relations — particularly videos of violence against African-Americans.
"What we’re looking at is completely unacceptable," Garfinkel said. "We need love and empathy and compassion. It's how we’re going to get through this until we get to a place where we have equality, and concepts like justice and truth are equal for everybody. That’s what we're working toward and that's what everybody who's a reasonable person wants. That's one of the reasons we're here. All those videos did was show us what’s been happening for a long time.
“It’s time for change. It's been time for change for a long time.”
