From Source to Table

Where Food Comes From

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida rescues as much of the excess food in our community as possible. By working with food growers, producers, distributors, grocers, and community food drives, Second Harvest Food Bank can collect this valuable resource and get it into the hands of kids, families and seniors through a robust partner feeding network. Much of the food is gathered from local sources, while others come from outside our community through partnerships with Feeding America and USDA’s The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). Due to a heightened, sustained demand for food assistance, the food bank purchases additional food resources each year.

Where Food Goes

Once food donations are received, the real work begins. Thousands of volunteers converge at Second Harvest each year to help sort and pack food for distribution. This massive effort, combined with an extraordinary network of feeding partners and programs, ensures that nutritious food reaches the hands of neighbors facing hunger across seven Central Florida counties. Second Harvest distributes nonperishable, fresh, and frozen foods through food pantries, mobile food distributions, school partnerships, community meal programs, emergency shelters, senior centers, and daycares. Prepared meals from Mercy Kitchen also reach neighbors through after-school and summer programs for kids, medically tailored meals for patients with chronic illness, and home deliveries to homebound seniors.

Another way Second Harvest helps put food on the table is by helping with applications for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). To ensure individuals, families, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities have the help they need, Second Harvest’s Benefits Connection Outreach offers experienced, friendly, and full-service SNAP application assistance at convenient locations across Central Florida.