Your Impact Learn how your support is helping feed families, kids and seniors in Central Florida. Impact Stories.
1 in 8 people in our Central Florida community is facing hunger. Here are some of their stories.
Donna has been caring for others for as long as she can remember. As a child, she helped a neighbor who fell while gardening. As a nurse, she cared for hundreds of patients throughout her career.
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Janet is not your average senior. This widow stays active by raising her five great grandkids by herself on a fixed income. Before she retired, Janet worked two jobs and even then, it wasn't enough.
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I went to buy a head of lettuce the other day, Laurie explains. "They wanted $4 for a head of lettuce. I can't afford that just for a head of lettuce that isn't going to last maybe one or two meals in our home."
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I never envisioned myself needing to go to a food pantry and asking for help, says Stephanie.
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If it weren't for this food pantry and these volunteers, I don't know if I'd be here today, she said as she waited outside a church in Sanford.
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Dawn and her husband, Ritchie, are parents again. After their daughter passed away in a car accident a few years ago, they adopted their two grandkids.
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Annette is a single mom in a multi-generational household. Her parents moved in recently to help her raise three kids.
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We lost everything, Margaret explained. "Our mobile home flooded, the roof is gone and the only way to get into the neighborhood is by boat."
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As single mom with five kids, Krista was already making tough financial choices before the pandemic hit.
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As a private nursing assistant, Bobbi is a friendly face when others need her the most. But today, she finds herself in need of a little help.
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Crystal says her family of six was comfortable before the pandemic hit. "There were times we had to rob Peter to pay Paul, but nothing like what we've had to do this year."
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I have no idea what we would have done if we hadn't been able to connect with the pantry.
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When we left, we had all of the essentials that we had just taken for granted before. We are so grateful.
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When I was working, I had pride in myself. I've learned to be humble and ask for help. It's hard to do that, but I'm grateful.
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I was embarrassed and ashamed. So much time passed and I dug myself into a bigger and bigger hole.
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I've never asked for help before. I didn't know where to start, Carlos explained. His main concern was for his two school-aged daughters who rely on breakfast and lunch at their elementary school."
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When I think of food insecurity on college campuses, it's heartbreaking, explains Naseeka Dixon, manager at the Knights Helping Knights Pantry at UCF. "Food is something everyone needs."
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