The Florida heat is unbearable, and most everyday necessities still cost more than they did a few years ago. As Central Florida temperatures continue to rise, so does the number of people seeking help to put food on the table.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s online Food Finder tool surged in July, August and September with more than 46,000 searches for emergency food pantries across the seven-county service area. Last year, just over 22,000 searches were performed during the same period – a 105% increase. As more people seek food assistance, Second Harvest continues distributing enough food to provide kids, families and seniors with 300,000 meals daily – the same rate as at the height of the pandemic.
“With the prices these days at the grocery store, this is necessary, and it helps out a lot in feeding my family,” said Donna at a recent food distribution in Altamonte Springs.
While inflation is holding steady, prices remain elevated. Add in skyrocketing utility bills due to record-high temperatures, and it’s a recipe for disaster for many local families. Often, food is the first line item to be reduced in a household budget. Second Harvest Food Bank and its 625 feeding partner network work to provide pantry staples and fresh foods to neighbors in Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties.
“Lately, when I come out of the store with a bag of food, there’s not much in it,” explains Beatrice, another neighbor in line at the distribution. “But I spent like $80 or $90. I can’t buy food the way I used to.”
Volunteers packed boxes of food under pop-up tents to avoid the heat of the day. In assembly line format, the boxes were filled with canned goods, rice, cereal, bottled water, sweet potatoes, pistachios, apples, bread and frozen pork. When they reached the end of the line, volunteers loaded them into the cars of hundreds of neighbors in a matter of hours.
“To get anything fresh is a blessing, especially when you don’t have the means to get it yourself,” said Donna.
Thanks to the kindness of people like you, Donna, Beatrice and more than 250 of their neighbors could take home the nutritious food they need to thrive.
