Children face so much today, and knowing that some are doing it on empty stomachs can be unsettling. In Central Florida, one in five kids is experiencing hunger.
To combat childhood hunger, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida partners with local after-school programs to offer meals and snacks to fill the gap for students and their parents. One example is at Soldiers to Scholars in Orlando.
Honorably discharged veterans receive a free education in partnership with UCF if they give back to children in their community through a mentoring program at a local apartment community. But it can be hard to focus on lessons on an empty stomach.
“Every day, they were asking for food,” explains Malvin Williams-Tyson, UCF Soldiers to Scholars Interim Director. “When they started asking for snacks in the evening, that is when we reached out to Second Harvest Food Bank.”
Thanks to volunteers and community supporters, the kids now fall in line for something delicious on weekdays before their homework and other activities.
“We have hot meals for these kids and a snack, and then they ask for seconds. You would be surprised how many of them ask for seconds,” adds Malvin.
The meals are part of Second Harvest Food Bank’s Kids Cafe program, an initiative to serve nutritious meals on weekday afternoons during the school year in partnership with community centers, churches, parks, and recreation sites. Volunteers help prepare the meals at Mercy Kitchen, a production kitchen that opened at the height of the pandemic. Today, the site produces thousands of meals a day for kids.Â
Kids should never have to worry about where their next meal comes from. Thanks to role models like the veterans at Soldiers to Scholars, volunteers, and caring individuals like you, they can get back to the business of being kids.
