ORLANDO, Fla. — Giving Tuesday is here and for many it’s a break from post-Thanksgiving shopping, offering families a chance to focus on how to help others ahead of the holiday season.
What You Need To Know
- Second Harvest Food Bank is feeding families across Central Florida
- The organization's volunteers are key to that effort, helping to pack thousands of meals daily
- Second Harvest says it's operating at a higher level that it was pre-pandemic
While the impact of the pandemic has many making sure nonprofits can help as many as they can, food banks like Second Harvest are still rushing to keep up with demand.
“I’m retired and this is like my new job," said Al DeLio, a volunteer. "But it’s not really a job, I enjoy it."
DeLio is no stranger to scooping up food over at Second Harvest; he's been volunteering at the food bank since 2016. Just this year, he said he's spent around 1,000 hours helping out.
“We’re keeping thousands of pounds of good food out of the dumpster and sending it to people who really need it. And there’s a lot of people that really need help now,” DeLio said.
That help is needed now more than ever.
“We’re still operating at a much higher level than we were pre-pandemic and trying to help as many people as we can,” said Greg Higgerson, chief development officer at Second Harvest Food Bank.
Second Harvest sends out 250,000 meals daily. That's 100,000 more a day than before the pandemic began. And with the holidays, the food bank's busiest time of the year, in full swing, volunteers are working constantly to make sure Central Florida families have enough food on their tables.
“And when you don’t have enough food to eat, there’s really few choices that you have in life," Higgerson said. "So reaching out and helping those people get at least those basic needs is really an important thing to do."
It’s why Giving Tuesday is so important, for Second Harvest and many other nonprofits across Central Florida.
The food bank relies on people donating money, but also their time.
“I mean, you can sit at home and write a check to a charity and it goes in the mail and you feel good for some period of time," DeLio said. "But here, this is where kindness sort of meets reality. You can see you’re actually producing something, you can come here for three hours and feed 7,000, it’s almost biblical."
With every hour spent scooping, packing and sending out meals to Central Florida families, DeLio said he’s grateful he can help and hopeful that others who can consider joining in.
“I can’t change the world but I can make this little part of it better,” DeLio said.
Giving Tuesday was established in 2012 as a way to encourage people to do good.
For Tuesday only, all donations to Second Harvest will be matched up to $30,000. You can also find more information on how to find a food bank near you for food assistance or to volunteer to help through the organization's website.
To find another nonprofit in central Florida to help out on Giving Tuesday or through the holidays, including information on where money donated would go, visit the Central Florida Foundation at cffound.org.
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Giving Tuesday: Volunteers give their time to feed families - News 13 Orlando
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