A local Central Florida food bank is sounding the alarm on rising summer hunger, as searches for free food at its feeding sites have surged in the last two months.
Searches on Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s food locator tool, that helps families find free meals, are up by 43% this June compared with last.
In May, searches jumped by over 100%.
Corporate Partnerships Manager Maureen Mickel said inflation is forcing more families to ask for help with food.
“You have to pay rent, you might have a mortgage payment, you have to pay for utilities, insurance, gas to get to work. There's nobody that you have to pay a bill to for food. And unfortunately, it can be the first thing that families cut back on,” Mickel said.
The first three weeks of June, there were 13,935 searches for food on their food locator tool. In May, there were 16,165 searches.
Mickel said there’s usually a rise in demand for food during the summer, as school lets out and families are left on their own to find free food that would otherwise be provided at school.
But this is unprecedented. She said it doesn’t help that post-pandemic, a lot of families are still struggling.
“There was long-term damage due to the pandemic. Unfortunately, a lot of families went through their entire savings, lost their jobs or are trying to rebuild," Mickel said.
The food bank has given out over 300,000 free meals a day this summer, at its regular and summer feeding sites.
According to Second Harvest, one in five children is at risk of going hungry this summer. Experts warn that these numbers could get worse under a new Florida law, that requires families applying for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance or SNAP, to log a certain number of training hours before they can qualify for the program.
Florida also opted out of almost $250 million in food aid this year, that would have fed families over the summer.
Here are some ways to find free food for your family this summer:
1.) Locate your Summer BreakSpot program. These are summer feeding programs at local K-12 schools and other community partner sites like churches. Dial 2-1-1 or text "Food" or "Comida" to 304-304 to find your closest BreakSpot, or search here.
2.) Find your nearest Second Harvest feeding partner site. These can be soup kitchens, food banks, and local houses of worship. Search using the food locator tool.
3.) Check with your child's school. Most Central Florida school districts have pledged to offer free breakfasts and lunches throughout the summer. Here's a complete list.
If you'd like to apply for SNAP benefits, for yourself or your family, click here.
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