January 17, 2012

Holiday Food Drop

Author: Santos Maldonado

Early on the bright and crisp morning of Saturday, December 17^th, three large Second Harvest trucks filled with 52,464 pounds of emergency food boxes and fresh produce got ready to roll toward six Orange County public schools. Second Harvest staff and management gathered in the parking lot to work out last minute details. Dave Krepcho, Second Harvest President and CEO, was first to rumble out of the lot and toward Hungerford Elementary School.

At the schools, families of students were already lined up in anticipation, as enthusiastic volunteers prepared for an orderly distribution. The energetic volunteers, young, old and in between, had been recruited and organized by Orange County Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services. They worked like a finely tuned orchestra, handling every surprise with patience, smiles and lots of laughs. Read More …

November 18, 2011

Hi-Five Kids Pack Program Update

Author: Maria Diestro

With the holidays rapidly approaching, most of us are preparing for a time of celebration and gift-giving. Yet for many children attending Central Florida Public Schools, this season will prove to be a particularly difficult one.

As many as 222,000* Central Florida students are receiving free or reduced cost lunches through the federally subsidized School Lunch Program because their families are struggling.

As a way of addressing this need Second Harvest is providing 18 Orange County elementary schools with Hi-Five Kids Packs – Kid friendly, shelf-stable packets of food product meant for weekend consumption. Each pack provides enough caloric content for a day to youngsters 6 to 8 years old.

In Orange County, which has 125 elementary schools, almost one fourth have free-lunch eligibility rates exceeding 95%. Osceola County reports a disturbing figure indicating that 70% of their students are now on the  eligible list for free lunch, up from 63% four years ago. * Read More …

September 28, 2011

Another Successful Hunger Action Month

Author: Maria Diestro

It feels like just yesterday I was just finalizing our 30 Ways in 30 Days Hunger Action Month calendar.  I am devoting this blog post to all those who got involved with this year’s HAM and thanking everyone that helped make it happen. This year we did some new and exciting things to help raise awareness about hunger in our community.

The goal of our calendar was to show that even small actions can make a deep impact on the problem of hunger. We were super excited to receive a lot of positive feedback and can’t wait to make next year even bigger and better!

Hunger Action Month would not be possible without the support of our community partners.  They held partial proceeds nights at their restaurants, donated food, organized events for us and even let us join in their monthly community events. All our partners were very supportive and helped get the word out about Hunger Action Month. Read More …

May 24, 2011

We are all HOGstars!

Author: Sasha Hausman

Definition of a HOGstar (noun), a person who supported the Hogs Against Hunger fundraiser and ride to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s Hi-Five program. 

Hogstars come in many different forms. Some purchased raffle tickets online or at an event. Some shared or retweeted about the fundraiser. Some came out to participate in a ride down I-4 last Sunday. Some sold tickets in the Harley stores, and some volunteered to spread the word. Finally some spent tireless hours organizing and working the events. But no matter what kind of HOGstar you were, you were able to help raise over $45,000 to feed children in need in our community by purchasing $10 raffle tickets to win a 2011 Harley-Davidson Road King Classic.

What does $45,000 look like? Read More …

January 26, 2011

Wine Women & Shoes

Author: Sasha Hausman

Calling all fabulous women of Central Florida!  Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is thrilled to announce our first annual Wine, Women & Shoes fundraising event.  Picture it now. You and your girlfriends on this beautiful Saturday afternoon, enjoying a girl’s day in, shopping the latest trends in shoes, handbags and accessories from premiere boutiques, sipping wine from vineyards hailing all the way from wine country, nibbling on tasty morsels prepared by Orlando’s very own Chef Jean Louis.  Can you see it yet?

Imagine strutting into the Royal Plaza on Saturday, April 23rd, decked out in the special shoes you’ve had waiting to make their debut.  Let the wine tasting and shoe shopping begin!  You notice that there are good looking men dressed in all black carrying shoes on silver platters.  Who are these men, you ask?  Meet our Shoe Guys, here to highlight featured merchandise from the different vendors.  Ask them about the shoes they are carrying and find out where you can buy them. You will be treated to a live fashion show and a live auction. 

Grab your friends for a photo shoot and experience being a cover girl for the day with Orange Appeal Magazine.  There will be an impressive silent auction and my personal favorite raffle item where you can win “A Key to the Closet.” 

If this day doesn’t already sound absolutely perfect, remember, IT’S ALL FOR CHARITY!  100% of ticket sales, silent auction, and Key to The Closet raffle are going to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida to help fight hunger in our very own community, as well as 20% of all marketplace purchases.  So come to sip, shop and support a great cause!

If this sounds like the event you’ve been waiting for, check for more information at http://www.winewomenandshoes.com/secondharvest.  And remember, in Central Florida, the perfect journey ALWAYS begins with a pair of fabulous shoes!

Sheyanne Cohron
Event Specialist

p.s. If you are on Facebook, check out Wine Women & Shoes Orlando