Fighting hunger means more than just giving out food.
It’s about access to adequate nutrition. It’s about kids being able to learn at school. It’s about enabling families to sit down together around the table. It’s about building a community for those who need reliable support. And it’s about giving people hope.
Destiny, a St. Cloud mother of four, was experiencing the toughest period of her life when she stood in line for food assistance from The Altar Community Church, one of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s more than 800 feeding partners.
“I am a single mother who left an abusive marriage, and it became very difficult with also tending to my dying mother in Puerto Rico,” Destiny said, reflecting on the last year. “I was in shambles. I was literally losing my mind.”
She eventually lost her mother, her home, her car and everything she had worked so hard to build. Through it all, the church pantry ensured her family had enough to eat, including fresh fruits and vegetables, high-quality protein like beef and chicken, and other healthy staples.
Marlana, the co-pastor and pantry director at The Altar, noticed Destiny needed support from a caring community.
“She said, ‘sit at the table with us, serve the community, and just heal,’” Destiny said. “I went from standing in the line, almost ashamed at the beginning, because I come from working hard my entire life, to coming full circle. Now, I walk in here to serve the same pantry line that served me.”
Destiny volunteers at the church pantry three days a week. She is one of the few bilingual volunteers who can speak to neighbors in both Spanish and English, which helps many of them express their needs and concerns.
“I have been serving nonstop,” she said. “I’m here giving back to the community. They fed me. They nurtured me with their spirit and as a whole. I’m able to sit here behind this table now and serve the community, and it’s still serving me because they humble me on a daily basis.”
Destiny is grateful for the support she has received from the church community and the opportunity to serve her neighbors.
“Now they bring their family members in, and they say, ‘There’s somebody who speaks Spanish here, who understands us.’”
“The food shows love,” Destiny said. “It’s not just about food. It’s about hope. That box literally is faith and hope for people who go home and say, ‘Wow, this is what they’re giving someone like me. Yeah, this is love.”
She said the support of the community at the food pantry and church helped her rebuild.
“I don’t miss a beat,” Destiny said. She started her own business, runs a faith-based YouTube channel, and records Christian music. She also volunteers, goes on mission trips, and performs with the church worship band.
“This has truly been life-changing for me,” Destiny said. “Without the pantry, I would not be here. There are a lot of people who are fed, and families saved because the pantry is here.”
Through food and financial donations, volunteerism, and advocacy, Second Harvest and its network of feeding partners distribute enough food for 300,000 meals a day.
