OCOEE, Fla. — A Central Florida food bank is working to help hundreds of families as the need for food assistance continues to grow.

What You Need To Know

More than 60,000 pounds of food will be delivered to 1,000 families

Distribution will reach areas including Ocoee, Apopka and West Orlando

Food bank now serves about 24,000 families monthly, nearly double from 2024

One in seven people and one in five children face hunger in Florida

At the Southeastern Food Bank in Ocoee, volunteers are packing hundreds of boxes filled with items like pasta, canned goods, produce and household supplies. The effort is part of the organization’s Food for Families program, which will deliver groceries directly to 1,000 households on April 4.

This year’s distribution will include more than 60,000 pounds of food, reaching families across Ocoee, Winter Garden, West Orlando, Apopka and parts of East Lake County.

For many volunteers, the work is personal.

“It makes you realize how fortunate you are and all the things that you’ve been blessed with that honors,” said volunteer Shelly Mhadeo.

Others say they’ve seen the impact of food insecurity firsthand.

“Honestly, it’s really sad. Seeing my parents go through that growing up… it’s honestly really, really sad,” said volunteer Kallista Ramos, a senior at Olympia High School.

According to Feeding America, 3.2 million people in Florida are facing hunger — totaling one in seven people and one in five children.

Organizers say rising costs are a major factor behind the growing demand.

“One place we went to, they had a tea bag in their house. That’s all the food they had,” said Mark Anthony, founder and CEO of Southeastern Food Bank. “Choosing between medicine and food is really pretty tough.”

The food bank says it is now serving about 24,000 families each month, nearly double what it saw in 2024.

Anthony says volunteers are critical to making sure families receive the help they need, especially for deliveries.

“We really need the volunteers to come help us so we can achieve our mission, because we can’t do it by ourselves,” he said.

Volunteers like Ramos say it’s a simple way to make a difference.

“I would say do it 100%. If you have time, might as well help out while you can,” she said.

The Southeastern Food Bank is still looking for volunteers to help deliver food to families across the region.

To sign up, visit the organization’s website.