Article and photos by Chuck Seaver
The Food Providers of South Lake County collaborated with others on November 19th at East Ridge High School, Clermont to provide the ingredients for a Thanksgiving meal to approximately five-hundred families. Of the five-hundred families, the breakdown included two-thousand individuals of which seven-hundred fifty were children. A host of organizations have teamed up to create the Food Providers in an effort to combine resources, staff availability and increase functional locations for the food giveaways.
The Food Providers of South Lake County is led by Keith Whitacre, the coordinator who brought teams such as The Neighborhood Center of South Lake, Dorca’s Way, Hope Center, Well of Hope, Give A Day Foundation, South Lake Business Leaders, Find Feed and Restore, along with many others to common ground as a team and coordinated the effort to help those who have fallen on difficult times. The need for food and shelter has increased tremendously in the South Lake County area as food and housing costs continue to rise.
The care packages included fresh vegetables, fruit, dairy, meats, gift cards and other staples to assist with both holiday and everyday meal planning. The car lines were lengthy, but the coordinated effort of volunteers and public safety provided by the Clermont Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Department made for a smooth distribution that included plenty of smiles and handshakes.
Other participating organizations or sponsors included Second Harvest Food Bank, The Salvation Army, Community Foundation of South Lake, Livewell Foundation of South Lake, Real Life Christian Church, YWAM of Orlando, South Lake Chamber of Commerce, First United Methodist Church of Clermont, Kroger, and The Church at South Lake.
