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Intersection: Hunger In Central Florida

Volunteers sort food at Second Harvest of Central Florida's distribution Center in Orlando. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE
Volunteers sort food at Second Harvest of Central Florida's distribution Center in Orlando. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE

If you’re back at work this week after the Thanksgiving weekend- chances are there are some leftovers in your fridge. But for some Central Florida residents the holiday season is not a time of abundance-  and some- students, the elderly, or working families- will go hungry.

Just how bad is the hunger problem? One in six people will at some point struggle to buy food to eat.

Greg Higgerson, Vice President of Development at Second Harvest Food Bank, says demand forced them into a huge new warehouse. Intersection takes a look at how this modern food bank is working to overcome some of the logistical challenges of getting food to a growing number hungry people.

"There's never been a shortage of food in America," says Higgerson.

"In fact we have so much we can't even consume it as a population, which is why there's a lot of extra food. We deal, here at the food bank, with that extra food."

[caption id="attachment_54788" align="alignleft" width="400"] Sarah Gurtis is the CEO of the Council On Aging of Volusia County. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE[/caption]

Lots of seniors rely on Meals on Wheels. in Volusia County where towns are miles apart, it takes a lot of coordination to get hot meals to hungry seniors. Sarah Gurtis, CEO of the Council On Aging in Volusia County talks about how her organizations feeds those seniors. The first step is finding out who they are, she says.

"They're just on on the grid," says Gurtis.

"So we have to get more clever in how we reach them."

You may not think of hunger and college students, But at UCF, students started the Knight’s Pantry back in 2009. It’s still going strong. A look at how student hunger fits into the picture, with pantry manager Jessica Roberts, and Sarah Maton, one of the original students who helped start the pantry. 

Take a tour of the Second Harvest's 100,000 sq. ft distribution center below:

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