Melissa Donovan
Orlando Science Schools (OSS) students, staff, and families helped pack one million meals in January, joining a nationwide effort to support California’s devastating wildfire victims. The initiative, organized by U.S. Hunger and the Kroger Foundation, provided critical food assistance to those displaced by the recent disasters while also addressing food insecurity in Central Florida.
“This remarkable achievement highlights the importance of focusing on high academic standards and supporting our local communities and beyond,” Eric Salgado, OSS East Campus principal said.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, approximately 4,000 volunteers gathered at the Orange County Convention Center for the second annual MLK Day of Service Million Meal Pack. Working in three shifts, participants packed over a million meals for wildfire victims in California and food-insecure families across Central Florida.
Weeks prior, California faced some of its most destructive wildfires in history, displacing over 200,000 residents and destroying thousands of homes. In response, about 100,000 of the meals packed during the event were allocated to wildfire victims through Convoy of Hope. The remaining meals were distributed throughout Central Florida, where food insecurity affects approximately one in eight residents—roughly 531,710 people—according to Second Harvest Food Bank.
Local distribution efforts were carried out by Second Harvest Food Bank, Daily Bread Distribution Center in Melbourne, Lock Haven Baptist Church, and United Against Poverty. These organizations worked to ensure the meals reached families in need across the region.
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