(From Left to Right: Ryan, Brooke and Mark)
The Picnic Project served its first meal in August 2010 at Centennial Park in Sanford, FL. About year later, they moved directly across the street into a Fellowship Hall at the invitation of The First United Methodist Church of Sanford. With this new location, Chef Mark Thompson was able to begin preparing meals on-site with their new commercial kitchen.
Fast forward to 2017, The Picnic Project became a Partner Agency with Second Harvest Food Bank and experienced a huge growth in terms of capacity. They are a 100% volunteer-based organization with no administrative costs operating on a minimal budget. Through the partnership, they are able to participate in other programs like TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) and Grocery Alliance.
In under a decade they went from handing out burritos in a park to 20 clients to serving over 200 Chef-prepared meals every Sunday in 2019. They also are opening a Client Choice food pantry called “The Picnic Basket.”
We are very excited to see what the next decade holds for this agency! Thank you for your continued commitment to fighting hunger and being an source of inspiration for others!