ORLANDO, Fla. — The struggle to make ends meet, especially as the holidays approach, continues in Central Florida.
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In partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, Catholic Charities’ food pantries try to ramp up supplies during this time of year.
“When the fuel prices hiked up it was hard to survive it,” Melanie King, a food pantry recipient of Catholic Charities, said. “We ended up losing the business.”
King has lived in Orlando for eight years now and knows all too well what the impacts of rising prices in gas, food, and rent can have on a family.
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In their time of need her and her husband searched for ways to make ends meet.
“We needed a little bit of help,” King said. “We looked up things in the area that can help us. This is one of the things that came up.”
King is one of the nearly 500 family’s Catholic Charities Food Pantry off of Semoran Boulevard feeds weekly.
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“It definitely keeps food on the table,” King said. “I’m able to cook dinner every night for my family. Without them, we’d probably be pretty messed up.”
It’s a need that only goes up as Thanksgiving and Christmas approach.
“The families that come here are asking for turkeys for Thanksgiving, toys for Christmas,” Maria Urdaneta, an Assistant Manager for Catholic Charities’ food pantries, said.
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Beyond the holidays, managers of the pantry say it’s a need they have to fill year-round.
“Right now, the price of the food is really, really, high,” Urdaneta said. “When the families come here asking for food, or for something for their children, it’s important to have places like this to support them.”
If you need food assistance, you can find a food pantry near you online through Second Harvest’s Food Finder Tool.
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