CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — Duke Energy donated over five hundred pounds of redfish Thursday to the Citrus County Family Resource Center. It’s all meant to help families that are in need during the pandemic.
What You Need To Know
- Duke Energy spawns, cultivates redfish at facility in Crystal River
- Company partnered with restaurants to fillet, freeze fish
- Donation will feed an estimated 1,500 people
- More Citrus County stories
Citrus County Family Resource Center Director Ginger West said they’ve seen an increase in families needing help since the pandemic began.
“What we’re seeing is a lot different people than we’ve had before," West said. "We have our regular people but we have a lot of people that never had asked for help before."
She said they haven’t had to turn anyone away, but summer is typically a time when their food supplies run short.
“When school is out and the families need more food because the kids are home to eat three meals a day coincides exactly when our snowbird donors go up north for the summer, so summer is always a challenge for us,” she added.
Duke Energy spawns and cultivates redfish at their Mariculture Center in Crystal River.
They partnered with The Crab Plant, Seafood Seller and Café, and Shrimp Landing to fillet and freeze the fish. They then delivered the frozen fillets to the Resource Center Thursday.
Duke Energy estimates the donation will be able to feed about 1,500 people.
“We said, 'hey, you know, this would be a really great opportunity to give back to the community in a unique way by providing that high quality source of protein,'” said Heather Danenhower with Duke Energy.
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