The program also trains students on appropriate work behavior, resume creation, interview skills, household budgeting, stress relief and time management. While enrolled, the students prepare food for catered events and also create fresh meals which are delivered to local early education and private/charter schools, senior feeding programs and group homes. Students not only learn to prepare food, they also learn food safety/sanitation, inventory and cost control, staffing, production in high-volume kitchens, and how to run the warehouse. The 14-week, full-day program offers extensive hands-on experience in their 2,000 square foot commercial kitchen (on site at their headquarters/warehouse). I am in love with one of their most innovative programs – their Culinary Training Program – which provides at-risk and economically disadvantaged adults with culinary and life skills training and support so they can pursue sustainable careers in the food industry. They partner with Universal Orlando and the Universal Orlando Foundation to bring a program called “ Bites, Camera, Action!” to local elementary and middle schools as well as community sites.A large number of qualified individuals and families have difficulty applying for these benefits due to factors such as: a lack of access to computers, a lack of skills to navigate online applications, a lack of awareness or misinformation regarding eligibility for SNAP assistance, and language/literacy barriers. Their Benefits Connection program assists households in applying for and accessing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (formerly known as ‘Food Stamps’).They currently transport at least 10,000 – 20,000 pounds of fruit, vegetables and dry goods directly to each community a year. Their Mobile Food Drop Program distributes fresh produce and other nutritious food 4 x/week to underserved communities.Their “ Food for Thought” tours educates the public on hunger in Central Florida and Second Harvest’s role in fighting that hunger.In addition to the intake, sorting and distribution of donated food, Second Harvestorganizes a wide number of programs, some of which include: Once our initial training was over it was time to do the work! The staff was fantastic – helpful, funny and patient. My husband and I had signed up to help sort incoming donations.Īfter a warm welcome and an informational video we were out on the floor learning how to sort through the donated food and pack it into boxes ready for distribution. There were a few groups of volunteers from local companies and then about 10 of us who were individual volunteers. feet of space housed the offices, a humongous warehouse with shelves and shelves of food for distribution, and a 2,000 foot culinary kitchen. When we arrived at Second Harvest this morning we were surprised at the size of the facility. In 2016 Second Harvest provided 43 million meals to families, children and seniors in Central Florida. The sheer number of recipient organizations and the amount of food that is distributed are impressive. Recipients include emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless and battered women’s shelters, senior programs, salvation army centers, group homes and more. As a private, non-profit organization, Second Harvestcollects, stores and distributes food to over 550 local non-profit feeding programs in 6 counties. They do this in both traditional and innovative ways. The vision of Second Harvest is to inspire and engage the community to end hunger. Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Floridamade signing up a snap and they utilize a great number of volunteers each day so there was room in their schedule for two more! The trick was finding an organization that needed help during the few days we were here. There are tons of places to volunteer in Orlando. My husband and I are visiting Orlando for vacation this week and wanted to include some sort of volunteering activity into our trip.
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