“The need is incredible”: Local Rotary Clubs celebrate 1 million meals provided for food bank

ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida Rotary Clubs say they’ve collectively given enough donations for Second Harvest Food Bank to provide 1 million meals for families in need.

It’s a major milestone both organizations set out to meet by the end of the year that they were unfortunately able to meet in just four months.

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“Right now in central Florida, one in seven people are struggling to get enough food to put on the table,” Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida Chief Development Officer Greg Higgerson said.

In stepped the Rotarians- members of the Rotary Clubs of Central Florida. The organization is known for its charitable contributions, and turned their full attention to the need.

“We started thinking about this last summer as one of our service projects…How we could make a difference in our community,” Rotary Club District Governor Barry Gainer said.

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All 45 individual clubs with their more than 1,600 members set out to feed families in need, a need that is only growing in Central Florida.

“We’ve done food collections at grocery stores and had all that food come to Second Harvest Food Bank,” Gainer said.

The food bank, in turn, used the money and food donations to feed as many people as possible.

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‘One thing I learned is that 1 million meals is just one percent of what’s needed in Central Florida,” Gainer said. “The need is absolutely incredible.”

For more information on how to get help or donate, click here.

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