May 15, 2019

Healthy Pantry of the Year Award

Author: Agency Relations & Programs Team

Metro West Church of the Nazarene-Herald of Hope

Congratulations to Metro West Church of the Nazarene-Herald of Hope for being named the 2019 Healthy Pantry of the Year at the Partner Agency Conference.

This partner agency goes above and beyond to run a large food pantry distribution utilizing only volunteer assistance.  This year they’ve continued to be an active member of the WO Healthy Pantry Network and have worked diligently to implement health focused practices into their entire distribution process. They also work with Cheyanna in supporting a school market in their area. They’re one of the leading pantries in Orange County for pounds distributed per year. 

This year they added a 20 foot storage container to their property and receive weekly deliveries of produce.  They serve as a large channel of not only food for their clients but other resources as well; they welcome community partners to their distributions to interact with their clients and distribute information, as well as host resource fairs for their community throughout the year. They work to strengthen their community by building relationships with their clients which then allows them to connect them with additional services their clients may need.  They participate in trainings and workshops hosted by the food bank and work creatively to implement what they learn into their regular pantry practices.  They’re a leader, a strong a community resource and an overall great partner to work with.

Thank you to Candace Campbell and her team for doing all that you do for those in need in your community.

April 26, 2019

2019 Second Harvest Food Bank Person of the Year Lourdes Ortiz-Serrano from Deltona Spanish SDA

Author: Agency Relations & Programs Team

2019 Second Harvest Food Bank Person of the YearLourdes Ortiz-Serrano from Deltona Spanish SDA

Lourdes Ortiz Serrano from Deltona Spanish SDA has a lifelong passion to help feed people, especially those who face other struggles other than food insecurity. She directs one of the largest agencies in West Volusia, feeding the community thru regular distributions and monthly mobile drops.

Lourdes recognizes the large population of migrant workers in the Pierson area of Volusia County. Not only are these families facing food insecurity and low income, they also struggle with transportation, a language and cultural barrier and other struggles.  

Lourdes worked with Second Harvest Staff to bring food to these families by hosting monthly mobile drop distributions in the Pierson area. She recruited over 40 volunteers to travel to that area to help distribute food to that needy community thru a mobile distribution. She serves over 200 families at these drops and is making an impact in that community. This is on top of her distributions in the West Volusia area.

We had another partner agency in Pierson that wanted to do a drop but had never had one so once again Lourdes to the rescue, she arrived at the first drop for Pierson United Methodist and worked with them throughout the day to ensure it was a smooth distribution.

Lourdes is a special person who continues to put the needs of others before her own. She is passionate about improving the lives of others and is always ready to lend a hand to help Second Harvest Food Bank and those in need in Volusia County.

Congratulations to Lourdes Ortiz-Serrano for being awarded the 2019 Person of the Year.

April 18, 2019

2019 East Orange Agency of the Year – Woodbury Presbyterian Church

Author: Agency Relations & Programs Team

Woodbury Presbyterian Church

Congratulations to Woodbury Food Pantry for being awarded the 2019 East Orange Agency of the Year. This Partner Agency is our strongest in East Orange. They are committed to feeding the community around them. Every week this agencies volunteer team starts their day at 5am transforming their sanctuary into a client choice food pantry where in a few short hours, 500 clients receive their weekly groceries. They distributed 360,692lbs of food last year equaling over 300,000 meals to their clients. Their commitment and consistency in distributing food has made a huge impact in the East Orange community.

Thank you Woodbury Presbyterian for all that you do for the community.  

April 11, 2019

Brevard County Agency of the Year..Hummingbird Pantry!

Author: Agency Relations & Programs Team

Congratulations to Hummingbird Pantry for being named 2019 Brevard County Agency of the Year at the Partner Agency Conference. Here is a little information about this amazing agency.

In early 2017 Regina Stafford from Hummingbird Pantry was operating thrift store and small pantry in a 1,000 sq ft storefront in Titusville.  Being that Titusville is considered a food desert based on the accessibility of groceries to those experiencing food insecurity, as a part of her goal to meet the community needs she also became a Second Harvest partner.

In 2018 needing a larger facility, she approached the city of Titusville to help her with a new location, they granted her to take over the kitchen and community rooms of Riverview Elementary as the school is no longer in operation.

Now with a 7,300 sq ft facility and adequate parking lot, Hummingbird began conducting mobile drops to get food to those in need quicker.

Being that Titusville as a good distance from the Melbourne warehouse, Regina championed to be a produce hub for Titusville where they’ll accept direct load of produce and coordinate with the surrounding Titusville pantries to pick it up from her, thus making it much easier to get healthy food to the community.  Faced with the extra expenses and equipment needs to do so, Regina didn’t bat an eye.

Since 2018 Hummingbird has distributed more than 90,000lbs of food, a 500% increase from the previous year.

It is an honor to work in partnership with Hummingbird Pantry. Congratulations on this well deserved honor.