Orlando-area charities to mobilize to provide assistance
Central Florida’s largest food bank brought in volunteers Wednesday to assemble disaster relief packs for Hurricane Michael victims — one of several Orlandoarea charities to mobilize as the storm made landfall.
Second Harvest Food Bank prepared some 2,000 packs — with ready-to-eat meals, nonperishable foods, toilet paper and paper towels — and boxed them to be trucked to North Florida as the storm pulls away.
“Central Florida knows what it’s like to be knocked flat by a storm,” said Greg Higgerson, the food bank’s vice president of development. “Now it’s our turn to help our neighbors in the Panhandle in their time of need.”
On Wednesday, the charity had nearly 50 volunteers boxing supplies, but it plans to repeat the effort on Fri-
day, Saturday and possibly Tuesday. Anyone wanting to volunteer or donate can do so at feedhopenow.org.
Second Harvest will work with the Feeding Florida network of food banks to ensure the supplies reach those in need, Higgerson said. The food is intended to sustain individuals or families for several days.
Meanwhile, volunteers at Central Florida-based Clean the World (cleantheworld.org) assembled some 10,000 emergency kits earlier this week with hygiene and disinfectant supplies. Officials there said they planned to move the kits as soon as it was safe to do so.
“We will most likely make a call out to volunteers and donors in the upcoming days to assemble between another 25,000 to 50,000 hygiene kits,” said CEO Shawn Seipler. “We need to see where the storm goes and its impact.”
The charity sent 50,000 kits to the Carolinas following Hurricane Florence.
In addition, Longwoodbased Feeding Children Everywhere (feedingchildreneverywhere.com) was working Wednesday with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, putting together a truckload of food items to send north.
“We’re just waiting for a report on the area of greatest need,” said Dave Green, the charity’s CEO.
At The Salvation Army in Orlando, leaders were joining their counterparts across the state to coordinate what they expect to be an unprecedented need for aid. Operators with SATERN, the charity’s amateur radio network, are planning to deploy to Pensacola, Panama City, Tallahassee and Tampa to keep communication lines open through what will likely be widespread power outages.
“We are prepared with supplies, and our teams are ready to begin serving as soon as possible,” says Lt. Ryan Meo, administrator for The Salvation Army in Tallahassee. “We have been in constant communication with local emergency management and are trusting God to care for those in the path of the storm.”
Other Salvation Army teams are being stationed in Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, and Panama City to help with mass feeding requests. Mobile kitchen crews from across South Florida are staging in Tampa as they prepare to deploy after the storm passes. To donate, call 1-800-725-2769 or go to HelpSalvationArmy.org. You can also text STORM to 51555 to receive a donation link for mobile giving.