Palm Beach County complaints about anti-hunger group ignite bitter political fight

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried’s decision to change the contracts for delivering food to the hungry in South Florida — a move that has drawn howls of protest from elected officials in Broward County — came in response to demands for change from Palm Beach County.

Amid ferocious lobbying and public relations efforts from competing nonprofits — Feeding South Florida, which currently has the work, and Farm Share, which is slated to get the work — Fried plans to personally review the matter this week.

Reflecting their desire for change and approval of actions taken by Fried’s agency, the Palm Beach County Commission plans to vote Tuesday on a resolution urging her to stay the course — two weeks after the Broward County Commission voted unanimously to ask Fried to undo the decision.

Officials familiar with the selection process at the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said Fried’s review is limited and will include only the selection for the contract in Broward County. She won’t review the Palm Beach County contract award to Farm Share, they said.

Politics, lobbying and public relations are complicating factor. Fried is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, and major Democratic players in Broward are supporting Pembroke-Park based Feeding South Florida, while major Democratic players in Palm Beach County are supporting Homestead-based Farm Share. Lobbying and public relations firms have taken up the fight.

“It was all facilitated by Palm Beach County being so unhappy with the service they were getting from Feeding South Florida,” a Department of Agriculture official familiar with the selection process said, adding that the larger context is “a long-standing food fight between two respectable nonprofits.”

The contract in question is for the federally funded Emergency Food Assistance Program in the two counties in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Administered by Fried’s agency, the program supplies food to low-income households and food banks, soup kitchens and food pantries, plus organizations that prepare food to serve to people in need.

The term emergency in the program’s name refers to the situation faced by a family that needs food, not to an emergency such as a hurricane or pandemic.

Last year, the Palm Beach County Commission asked Fried’s agency to sign separate contracts for services in Broward and Palm Beach counties, which had been one region with one contract. Fried’s office agreed, and earlier this year solicited applications for contracts across the state.

Officials familiar with the agency’s selection process said the decision to divide the South Florida contracts was prompted by Palm Beach County’s dissatisfaction about Feeding South Florida’s performance.

The state Agriculture Department decided Farm Share would get the contracts for Broward and Palm Beach counties and it would continue serving Miami-Dade County.

The scores were close. Out of a maximum of 150 points, Feeding South Florida had 138.8 in Broward and Farm Share had 140.2. In Miami-Dade the scores were 133.4 for Feeding South Florida and 134.2 for Farm Share. In Palm Beach County, Feeding South Florida had 133.8 points and Farm Share had 140.

Feeding South Florida contends errors by some of the evaluators who did the scoring tipped the outcome to Farm Share. Farm Share dismisses that as sour grapes. Agriculture Department officials said there were no errors.

Feeding South Florida tried to get Fried’s agency to reconsider its decision, something the agency declined to do. A state hearing examiner rejected Feeding South Florida’s appeal on the grounds the issue was up to Fried.

Meanwhile, Feeding South Florida enlisted a range of political allies including U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, members of the Broward County Commission, and several state legislators from Broward and Palm Beach counties. On June 1, the Broward commission voted to ask Fried to reconsider, with multiple commissioners arguing only Feeding South Florida had the ability to do the work.

After Fried told Broward commissioners last week she would reexamine the issue, Farm Share stepped up its public efforts to counter Feeding South Florida’s messaging.

Farm Share’s chief public relations representative, Ron Sachs, depicted Feeding South Florida as a disgruntled losing bidder. Its CEO, Stephen Shelley, defended his agency in a video conference with reporters. And pro-Farm Share food groups and elected officials began speaking out. (Feeding South Florida has also enlisted support from food pantries.)

Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay said she and her colleagues don’t agree with Broward’s view. “We don’t have the same concerns as Broward County,” McKinlay said. “We look forward to working with Farm Share.”

McKinlay, who leaves the County Commission next year because of term limits, may run for agriculture commissioner the job Fried is leaving so she can run for governor. Representing a large agricultural district in western Palm Beach County, she described her interest in the subject as “genuine,” but declined to discuss a possible candidacy. “I’m not commenting on my future plans.”

Both organizations use lobbying and public relations firms, and have done so before the current dispute.

Feeding South Florida uses the powerhouse lobbying firm Rubin, Turnbull & Associates, which has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. Communications about the contract dispute have been handled by Fort Lauderdale-based public relations firm Durée & Company.

Farm Share uses the Tallahassee lobbying firm Smith, Bryan & Myers. A major Tallahassee public relations firm, Sachs Media, represents Farm Share. One of its staffers assigned to the issue was a communications director at the state Agriculture Department under Fried’s predecessor.

The outcome is uncertain. Among the next steps: