Even with a full-time job, Kisa needs extra support with food to help her get through each week.
The St. Cloud mom is grateful for the food she receives from The Altar Community Church, one of Second Harvest’s 800 feeding partners, each week because it ensures there’s food on the table and enough money to cover the bills for her and her 10-year-old son.
“It truly helps a lot, especially if you're on a budget,” Kisa explained. “Coming and getting a lot of the foods, it cuts it back on what you have to come out of pocket with.”
The Altar Community Church in St. Cloud operates a food pantry serving approximately 185-190 individuals per distribution, three times a week, totaling up to 600 people weekly.
Neighbors may visit once per week, and most are repeat visitors. However, the numbers are steadily growing, with 15-20 new registrations each week, according to church pastors and pantry directors Marlana and Luke.
The pantry serves families, retirees, and working individuals, with a near-even split among these groups.
“I have a lot of people who work full time and get a certain amount of income, but (an unexpected expense) comes along, and they have to make tough decisions,” Marlana said. “We have gotten some of them through the season where they didn't have any jobs, or they were in between jobs. I have a lot of retired people where it's that they have a fixed income, and those are the ones that are returning regularly.”
The Altar Community Church picks up donated food directly from grocery stores five days a week through Second Harvest’s Retail Rescue program, and much of the food distributed to neighbors comes from that program, she explained.
They are typically able to provide boxes filled with a wide variety of foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen meat, bread, rice, beans and other dry goods.
Kisa said what she receives can vary from visit to visit, but she can and does use everything she receives.
“Sometimes we get more canned goods,” she explained. “Other times we get a mixture of things, like the fresh fruits, bread, meats and dairy, like yogurts and so forth. You come in, and you're like, okay, this is enough to make it until the next paycheck.”
The food pantry helps other neighbors make ends meet, as well.
Karen is a St. Cloud resident on a fixed retirement income, and she said rising costs—rent, gas, and medical copays—force her and her husband to make difficult trade-offs, making food assistance at The Altar a critical resource for their household.
“It's rent, it's the gas, too, and it's the doctor,” she said. “It's like the older we get, they have a referral for absolutely everything, and then it's the copay. You have to cut some of them out and (pay for the one that) will be the most important. It's gotten very tough.”
Every dollar donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida helps provide enough food for four nutritious meals to families, seniors, and individuals facing hunger. Your support ensures that people like Kisa and Karen have the food and hope they need each week.
