Can I afford to buy groceries this month? If I do, how will we cover rent? What will the kids eat when they come home from school? How will we make it through the weekend?
When you’re living with food insecurity, it’s all you can think about – from the moment you wake up in the morning to your last restless worries before falling asleep. That’s because hunger is much more than an empty stomach. It’s an impossible dilemma that casts a shadow over every aspect of your life.
In today’s economy, more than one in eight Central Floridians is at risk of experiencing hunger on any given day. At Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, we’re doing our part to provide the right nutrition to our neighbors by distributing enough food for approximately 300,000 meals daily.
Every breakfast, lunch and dinner make a difference in someone’s life. Maybe it’s a hardworking parent holding down multiple jobs, an older adult trying to make ends meet on a fixed income, a student working their way through college … or maybe it’s one of the thousands of children in Central Florida who rely on free or reduced-price school meals.
But even now, we’re still a long way from getting food to everyone who needs it. According to Feeding America’s 2024 “Map the Meal Gap” study, food insecurity has continued to rise in the wake of the pandemic, driven in large part by elevated prices for food. Rising costs have also impacted food banks like Second Harvest, where we’re stretching each dollar further to serve the families who turn to our network for help.
Bridging that gap – and ending hunger for good – won’t be easy. But it’s possible. With a combination of front-line aid and long-term programs designed to “shorten the line of hunger,” Second Harvest and our community of volunteers, donors and agency partners are feeding opportunity and health across Central Florida.
In September, we expanded to a new location in Brevard County, allowing us to distribute more fresh produce and non-perishables in those communities, and making sure Brevard residents have the nutrients they need to learn, work and thrive. In the metro Orlando area, we’re continuing to target chronic illnesses like diabetes and hypertension through Medically Tailored Meals in collaboration with local healthcare providers while also kick-starting careers through our 16-week free Culinary Training Program.
No matter where home is located, Hunger Action Month is a time to set aside preconceptions and take a good, hard look at the real face of hunger in our community. Whether you’re on the front lines as a volunteer serving meals or boxing groceries … giving what you can through a monthly pledge … or learning more about hunger in our community on a Food for Thought tour, every action counts.
To find out more about how you can help Second Harvest Food Bank turn the tide of hunger in Central Florida, or to locate a feeding partner in a neighborhood near you, visit our website today at www.feedhopenow.org.
With gratitude,
Derrick Chubbs
President & CEO
This guest column originally appeared in The Orlando Sentinel on September 12, 2024.
