Families facing hunger in Florida's Orange County could have greater access to nutritious food, thanks to a $400,000 grant supporting food pantries at their children's schools.
Here's what to know
The Florida Blue Foundation awarded the grant to the Foundation for Orange County Public Schools to expand access to healthy food, according to WFTV.
School-based food pantries are the designated recipients of the funding, which the Foundation for OCPS announced on Nov. 3.
"No student should have to worry about where their next meal will come from," said Debi Pedraza, executive director of the Foundation for OCPS.
More background
Community-based food initiatives elsewhere in Florida are also receiving support from the Florida Blue Foundation. In its September announcement, the foundation named eight nonprofit organizations receiving a combined $3.1 million in grants across Florida.
"Hunger and chronic disease are deeply connected, and we know when we invest in food access, we invest in health," said Susan Towler, vice president of the Florida Blue Foundation.
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The Foundation for OCPS noted that readiness to learn and participate in class can depend on circumstances beyond school, according to WFTV.
What's being done?
Funding will focus on pantry infrastructure and capacity through the Foundation for OCPS's Food Pantry Capacity and Access Expansion Initiative.
Schools as a community resource are central to the effort. To help them meet families' food needs, the initiative will strengthen existing school-based pantries in low-income communities rather than establish a separate assistance network.
"We're partnering with organizations across Florida to break the cycle, ensuring that access to healthy food becomes a foundation for better health outcomes," Towler said.
Where can I learn more?
Food pantries across Florida are seeing more families turn to them for help. These stories cover food bank funding, rising pantry demand, and the financial pressures families are facing across the state.
• Publix gave a Northeast Florida food bank $1.1 million to move food faster into rural counties.
• In Osceola County, the Salvation Army seeks help as mobile pantry demand jumps 68%.
• In Port Richey, a Salvation Army pantry went from 30 visitors a day to 100 in three hours.
• In Northwest Florida, weekly food pantry trips have become routine amid SNAP cuts and grocery costs.
• In South Florida, 1.7 million people struggle to put food on the table as costs surge.
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