Destin Harvest received an award of $25,000 from St. Joe Community Foundation to aid with food-rescue and hunger relief activities in Walton County for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025! This is a tremendous help to our operation and the programs we make deliveries to in Freeport, Defuniak Springs, and Santa Rosa Beach! The need in Walton County is immense and having access to free foods through local programs make a huge difference for struggling households. DH currently makes deliveries three days a week in Walton County to programs that include Caring and Sharing, Open Door Pantry, Black Creek Methodist Church, COPE Center, Everlasting Word Church, Newlife Adventist of Defuniak Springs, and Freeport Community Food Program.
Destin Harvest’s staff, board of directors, stakeholders, and recipient programs are truly grateful for St. Joe Foundation’s substantial support for our operation and mission to bridge the gap between food surplus and local hunger. Thank you, St. Joe Foundation!
Destin Harvest has been awarded $20k from The Alys Foundation to aid in our food rescue operating costs to Bridge the Gap Between Food Surplus and Hunger! Destin Harvest and its recipient programs are truly grateful for this tremendous show of support. This contribution constitutes the difference of 111,100 pounds of free food, or meals, that DH will connect to local food programs!
Last week we shared through social media that our 2016 International 4300 had to be driven back to Ward International the same day we had picked it up. On Friday, we had the truck towed directly to RTS Allison Transmission in Mobile. All the work involved diagnosing the TCM (transmission computer) led us to conclude there might be something wrong with the transmission itself. Sadly, this was confirmed by RTS Allison when they dropped the pan on the transmission and found metallic grit and debris in the pan and fluid. I have been hesitant to share any additional sad news about our trucks, since so many of you have contributed generously. I want you to know that your donations have made a huge impact on these setbacks. I really want to share something positive.
Here’s the good news. Over $12k in funds were raised within the past month and have been fully matched by our private benefactor. DH received a wire yesterday for $20k, which will cover our outstanding balance on previous repairs and the cost to replace the transmission on the International.
Our trucks should be fully operational and back in action by the end of next week. In the meantime, we are relying on our smaller back-up truck and have been lent a refrigerated box truck from Feeding the Gulf Coast. We are truly fortunate for their ongoing support for Destin Harvest.
I want to give a special thank you to everyone who supported us during this costly hurdle. If you were considering making a contribution for our truck repairs, please don’t let our positive news stop you. DH’s operation is still very much in need of ongoing support and ownership from the community. Every individual contribution made under $15k will be matched.
Sincere Gratitude,
Chris Leavenworth Executive Director
Below is a timeline and breakdown of every expense we have had on the 2017 Freightliner M2, the 2016 International 4300, and refrigerator units since April of this year.
2017 Freightliner M2: Total Repair Costs: $8,236.76
June 19th: DOT Inspection: $320.25
June 27th: Replace A/C Compressor: $976.22 (necessary repair since the drive belt runs on it)
July 29th to August 1st: Replace warped manifold gasket $2,458.32 Exhaust was blowing into the cab whenever the truck’s DPF went into regen. This repair required mechanic to remove bolts from the turbocharger to the manifold, which revealed serious damage to the fins on the turbines of turbocharger. When mechanic put everything back together, the check engine light came on and the computer indicated bad turbocharger and actuator.
August 5th to August 22nd: Replace turbocharger and actuator: $4,481.97 (after warranty coverage)
2016 International 4300: Total Repair Costs $15,748.38
May 1st: Replaced EGR Cooler: $1,983.30 EGR cooler, a component that cools exhaust before entering DPF, cracked and leaking coolant. Diesel trucks with over 200k miles run into this quite commonly. Next part needing replacement will likely be EGR valve since it has so much soot build up.
May 1st: PM (oil change, fuel filter, CV filter, oil, water seperator) : $813.03
July 18th: Truck Diagnostic after CK Engine light comes on: $126 Computer indicates EGR valve is too clogged up to close. Need to replace EGR Valve.
July 23rd: Replaced EGR Valve: $1,376.29
July 28th: Truck breaks down in Defuniak. $685.89 Service Call. Coded for shorted output speed sensor. Mechanic clears out code and drives behind driver back to Fort Walton. Replaces output speed sensor on transmission the following day but the computer keeps indicating there is an issue with the sensor. We conclude it is likely an issue with the TCM (transmission computer) or a broke wire coming from the harness to output sensor. Need to get truck to an Allison Transmission tech.
August 3rd – August 13th: TCM / Output Speed Sensor Diagnostic: $2,205.26 Drive truck in limp mode to Ward International to have Allison tech run new overlay wire to output speed sensor, but does not resolve the error. They hook up a test computer to rule out the TCM not being the culprit. Speed sensor from TCM to ECM are swapped to rule out the new sensor is not the issue. The tech finds a piece of metal stuck to sensor’s magnet. He removes the metal and put’s the sensor back in and the error goes away. They test drive the truck 18 miles and tell us the problem is resolved and to pick up the truck. On the drive back the check engine light comes back on and slips back into limp mode. The truck is brought immediately back to Ward International.
August 3rd: While at dealership we replaced driver’s seat that was falling apart: $658.61
August 16th: Truck is towed to Allison Transmission RTS in Mobile: $1,000 Advised not to drive it, in case there is an internal issue with transmission.
August 26th: Truck needs new transmission: $6,900 Allison techs remove pan on transmission to reveal metallic grit in fluid and flakes of metal on pan. Outcome of rebuilding transmission is a crap shoot and will be expensive to even explore.
Service on Refrigerators on Trucks: $5,663.82
April 18th Service Call: $3,006.77
International 4300: $1264.44
Hino: $1,557.33
Freighliner M2: $185
July 30th Service Call: $2,656,05
Hino: $1,054.43
Internationl 4300: $775.93
Freightliner M2: $828.69
2017 Freightliner M2: Manifold Gasket and Turbocharger Repair
Warped Manifold Gasket was releasing exhaust fumes that were entering into the cab when the truck went into “Regen” modeCompromised Fins on Turbine of Turbocharger Mechanic computer confirms Turbocharger and actuator need to be replaced.
2016 International 4300 Output Speed Sensor:
Original output speed sensorNew output speed sensor revealed piece of metal stuck to magnetSomething was scraping the sensor too.
2016 International 4300: Excessive metal debris in the transmission pan
Metallic grit within fluid revealed in transmission pan
Through collaborative and exceptional opportunities presented by Feeding the Gulf Coast (FTGC), Destin Harvest (DH) and local organizers have distributed an additional 70k pounds of free foods into Okaloosa and Walton County. These food distributions are different from DH’s daily operation of connecting food surpluses from local grocers and food retailers to food programs in Okaloosa and Walton County. DH organizes teams of volunteers and community advocates at local sites for FTGC to deliver an 18-wheeler refrigerated truck loaded with free foods. These foods are palletized and dropped from the FTGC truck, and then staged by DH and volunteers to hand out to 300 – 400 participating vehicles. A DH truck stays on-site to store surplus pallets of refrigerated items until the pallets on the ground are exhausted. People receiving food from these events are returning home with fresh eggs, milk, yogurt, packages of chicken tenders, watermelon, peanut butter, jelly, boxes of assorted produce, bags of potatoes, and more.
On May 18th, DH’s team, volunteer teams from Beulah Baptist Church, Sylvania Heights, along with off-duty deputies from Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, all worked together to distribute 35,000 pounds of food to over 300 vehicles at Northwest Florida Fairgrounds. It was a huge success in the face of inclement weather and serious logistical challenges. Below are some of the pictures from that food give-away.
The food distribution at Freeport Commons on June 15th had a tremendous turnout, with over 400 vehicles being served. Huge thank you to New Life Adventist Church and Walton County Sheriff’s Posse for helping plan and volunteering to make this event possible. Below are pictures from the food give-away at Freeport Commons. (Photo Credit – Micki Glenn)
Team at Children in Crisis in Fort Walton Beach, FL receives Strawberry Milk donated to DH from City Produce
City Produce, local produce distributor in Fort Walton Beach, donated a pallet of strawberry milk to DH last week. Feeding programs were very excited to receive the refreshing treat. Our drivers never know what they will pick up and it’s tremendous feeling to find out what we will be handing off to grateful recipients each day. Without valuable donors like City Produce and local grocery stores, this simply would not be possible.
Thank you City Produce for giving back and putting smiles on the faces of volunteers and staff at local recipient charities that benefit from DH’s free deliveries.
Destin Harvest has never experienced the need as great as it is right now. All throughout NWFL, hundreds of families that depend on seasonal work have lost their fulltime income, or are now working minimum hours at reduced wages, due to the devastating economic damages incurred by Coronavirus. These hardworking families and individuals rely on full-time seasonal work to carry them financially for eight months to a year and require additional part-time to full-time work just to have disposable income. Â
Local food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, churches, and similar efforts have been overwhelmed by food insecurity prior to COVID-19. Some agencies have reduced their services or closed altogether. The programs that continue to operate are on the front lines every day and cannot possibly meet the mounting need.
DH has been securing more food than ever by partnering with other responders, food banks, and reaching out to new resources to assist in this major crisis. An immediate relief has been Farm Share foods, a statewide program that warehouses top quality perishable and nonperishable foods and provide access for free to feeding programs throughout Florida. Through the assistance of groups such as PERT, Harbor Docks, Event Tents, and many others, DH began mobilizing an additional 50k pounds every week of fresh fruits, vegetables, drinks, eggs, meats, and nonperishable items.
Farm Share Food Drive at Morgans Sports Complex 4/11/2020
DH has been distributing these foods out to recipient feeding programs and organizing mass drive through food box giveaways, jointly with other teams throughout Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton County. DH continues to make Farm Share runs to Quincy weekly and distributes it all out for free to local feeding programs throughout the week.
As Farm Share foods address the needs of local feeding programs, DH is now utilizing another resource to continue to provide for mass drive through food box giveaways. USDA launched a program in direct response to food insecurity nationwide called Farmers to Families Food Box program. USDA is buying up 3 billion in agricultural yield as farmers prepare hundreds of thousands of food boxes. Produce distributors throughout the country are securing the boxed fresh produce from the farmers and delivering directly to feeding sites.
DH is teaming up with United Way of Emerald Coast this Saturday, May 23rd, to distribute 1,200 boxes to cars at the NWFL Fairgrounds in Shalimar. Each box weighs 25 pounds and will be made up of fruits and veggies.
Combining daily food pickups from grocery stores (30k pounds a week), weekly Farm Share runs (20k – 40k pounds a week), and USDA’s FTFFB program (30k pounds a week), DH is currently mobilizing between 80k to 90k pounds of free food into Okaloosa and Walton County every week! These resources and combined efforts have been crucial to addressing the increasing local demand for food.
To learn how you can support our efforts, follow the link below.
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