Orange County to give $1M to Second Harvest Food Bank to meet rising need

Orange County leaders are poised to approve an extra $1 million for the region’s largest hunger relief organization this week, in light of the recent uncertainty surrounding federal food assistance and the impact of the 43-day government shutdown that ended last week.

Most federal government employees, including tens of thousands in Central Florida alone, were furloughed for the duration of the shutdown or forced to continue working without pay for the duration of the shutdown. (The status of back pay for those workers is yet to be determined, although a document reviewed by Semafor shows the administration is working on getting payments out by Nov. 19.)

On Tuesday, Orange County’s board of county commissioners and Mayor Jerry Demings will vote on whether to approve the extra funding for Second Harvest Food Bank, which serves seven counties (including Orange) across Central Florida.

Based in Orlando, Second Harvest already has a three-year $7.75 million contract with the county, approved by county commissioners in August. But after the Trump administration pretended they didn’t have the money to fund Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for millions of low-income families during the government shutdown, Mayor Demings proposed an additional $1 million investment from the county to support food assistance efforts.

Especially since Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, unlike governors in other states, refused to step up and commit state resources for food aid.

“One thing I like about living in Orange County is that we are a compassionate community,” Demings said at a press conference in late October, organized just days before funding for SNAP was expected to run out. “We come together when we need to during a crisis, and that’s what we’re asking us to do today, is as a community, let us come together.”

Demings can’t approve extra funding for Second Harvest unilaterally. That’s why he’s set it up for a vote this Tuesday, in front of the full board of county commissioners.

Although the federal government officially reopened this past Wednesday, ending the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Demings defended his proposal to provide additional support Friday when questioned by hosts of WMNF Radio’s Tampa-based news program, “The Skinny.”

“At the end of the day, my central job is to look out for the people in my community, and we have countless federal employees who now went well over 30 days without any pay,” Demings said, when pressed on the issue. “Then we have the temporary suspension, if you will, of SNAP benefits that has impacted residents in my community.”

“What we’re simply saying here in Orange County [is] if we have the ability to assist those who may need food, we’re going to do that.”

Demings, a former county sheriff first elected mayor in 2018, recently launched a campaign for Florida governor. With DeSantis term-limited from seeking re-election next year, Demings will face a tough campaign ahead against Republican opponents, including the Trump-endorsed Republican Congressman Byron Donalds.

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The federal SNAP program, formerly known as food stamps, serves nearly 42 million Americans, including 175,000 households in Orange County earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. That’s equal to just over $31,000 for a single childless adult, or $64,300 for a family of four.

Stephanie Palacios, director of advocacy and government relations for Second Harvest, told Orlando Weekly last month that most of the people they serve are working families. Florida has work requirements in place for most adults who receive SNAP benefits.

“These are people who are working one and two jobs, and they’re struggling with high rent and challenges at the grocery store, so they are turning to our pantry network to help fill in those gaps,” Palacios said in an interview.

Her organization works with a network of 870 community partners across Orange, Osceola, Brevard, Lake, Volusia, Brevard and Marion counties to distribute food to those in need. Although the government has reopened, it’s still unclear when SNAP benefits will be distributed by the Florida Department of Children and Families, the state administrator of the program. U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins said Thursday that most should receive their payments by Monday, Nov. 17, at the latest.

According to Axios, Florida hasn’t publicly released a timeline for this, unlike more than a dozen states — red and blue — that have already confirmed their release of November SNAP benefits. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that some Florida residents have started to receive their benefits or have received partial benefits for the month. Others are still waiting.

On average, Florida SNAP recipients receive about $186 per month for food, or $6.12 per person, per day. With about 2.9 million Floridians receiving federal food assistance each month, Florida has the fourth-largest enrollment of SNAP recipients in the country.

If you need help finding food for yourself or your family, search for your nearest food pantry through Second Harvest’s Food Finder Tool.

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Orange County to give $1M to Second Harvest Food Bank to meet rising need

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