Mercy Kitchen Cooks Up Hope This Summer

Exterior building of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida's Mercy Kitchen facility.

With generous support from Orange County Government’s CARES Act funding and community members like you, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida opened Mercy Kitchen just a few miles north of the Orlando warehouse in January 2021. The new location doubled the available space to prepare meals for childhood hunger relief programs like Kids Café and Summer Food Service Program. Mercy Kitchen is currently producing 23,000 meals a day thanks to you.

Seven Days of Hope

Mercy Kitchen supports two new community meal initiatives developed during the pandemic. The first is a seven-day box program that provides a week’s worth of breakfasts and lunches for children, seniors and veterans. The boxes are loaded into trailers and distributed at community centers and feeding partners across Central Florida.

I didn’t know this kind of help was available.”
Darren, father of two children

Even though he recently started a new job, Darren continues to fall behind on rent and other bills. “Knowing my kids have food for the week ahead makes it easier for me to focus on getting back on track.”

Sharing a Meal Together

The second new program provides a home-cooked meal that families can enjoy together. The family meal box program features chef-inspired suppers like lasagna and enchiladas, plus breakfast items to feed a family for four to seven days depending on the size of the household. Each meal is distributed frozen and comes with reheating instructions.

“During this crisis, we’re not sure how to make ends meet,” says Robert, who helps distribute family meal boxes to residents at an Orange County senior center.

There are people out there who care, they open their hearts to serve their fellow man. Thank you.”

Forward Thinking

Additionally, Mercy Kitchen will be home to Second Harvest’s social entrepreneurial endeavors, such as providing contracted meals for private schools and its signature product line, A Spoon Full of Hope. Along with Drop and Go Catering, and Catering for Good services, these programs allow Second Harvest to diversify its funding stream and continue providing necessary resources to help sustain hunger relief efforts in Central Florida.