It was just one consequence of a 43-day government shutdown during which about 3 million Floridians<\/a> temporarily lost SNAP benefits that paid for their groceries.<\/p>\n \u201cJust because the government started back up and SNAP is flowing again, doesn\u2019t mean that everybody is right back to where they were beforehand,\u201d said Greg Higgerson, the Chief Development Officer at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.<\/p>\n Higgerson said Central Florida was already experiencing its highest level of food insecurity in over a decade, but the need was amplified during the shutdown as federal workers went without pay and SNAP was suspended. <\/p>\n \u201cDuring that time, a lot of people, I am sure, put things on credit cards or made decisions about where their money had to go when they weren\u2019t getting paid, and so on. And that has a lag effect<\/a>,\u201d said Higgerson. <\/p>\n Higgerson said the organization is still seeing people struggling to recover from the disruption to SNAP. It is still providing enough food for approximately 330,000 meals a day. <\/p>\n On November 18th, Orange County government approved an extra $1 million in funding to help to the food bank meet that heightened demand and local businesses are stepping up too.<\/p>\n Multiple businesses within Harmon Collective, a conglomerate of companies located in the former Lombardi\u2019s Seafood building in Winter Park, are now participating in a food drive that runs through December 15th. <\/p>\n That includes All Inclusive CrossFit, a local gym that is leading the food drive. \u201cOur hope is that we can show each individual that their small acts can come together to make a big difference,\u201d said Clarissa Detzel, owner of All Inclusive Cross Fit. <\/p>\n Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n