The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is a lifeline for local families facing hunger. This federal initiative supplements the diets of low-income individuals and families with fresh and nonperishable food, all sourced from American farms and funded through the U.S. Farm Bill. Food banks like Second Harvest play a crucial role in receiving, storing, and distributing … [Read more...] about The Emergency Food Assistance Program Provides Stability for Central Florida Families
Advocacy
Positive Potential: The Power We All Have to Fight Hunger
$138 million. That number caught my attention when, seven years ago, I heard about a group of graduate business students at Rollins College researching the local economic impact of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Although I had worked with nonprofits for decades, the scale of Second Harvest’s impact was staggering by comparison. It encompassed not only the fresh … [Read more...] about Positive Potential: The Power We All Have to Fight Hunger
Tackling Poverty and Hunger in 2023
Poverty isn’t a number in a bank account. It’s not an area code or even a statistic. I define poverty as not having the financial independence to make critical decisions in one’s daily life. And unfortunately, we’re seeing this reach into the pockets of more and more people. Lingering inflation means that many households still struggle to make ends meet. Food prices – … [Read more...] about Tackling Poverty and Hunger in 2023
White House Conference on Health
Being selected as one of Feeding America's Amplified Voices of Neighbors with Experience for the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years is at the top of my list of Professional Achievements. Despite Hurricane Ian looming back home, I decided I could not miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to shed light on my personal … [Read more...] about White House Conference on Health
Feeding Florida’s Hungry Is Harder Than Ever as Support Wanes
After two difficult years, we’re all ready to believe that post-pandemic life is getting “back to normal.” But when it comes to hunger in Central Florida, that’s far from true. I’ve seen it firsthand over the last nine months as CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida: Food insecurity – and the challenges of solving it – are getting worse, not better. The national … [Read more...] about Feeding Florida’s Hungry Is Harder Than Ever as Support Wanes
