runDisney Celebrated Charity Spotlight: Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is the celebrated charity of the 2022 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend.

Thanks to a kind and caring community, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is able to work with incredible partners to create the largest network of food assistance in Central Florida. With a fleet of trucks that visit over 400 generous retail partners twice a week to pick up donations, a power house of volunteers who help sort through donated food at the facility, and over 500 feeding partners across 6 counties, over 250,000 meals are distributed to our neighbors facing hunger every single day! The majority of those served are low-income families who are working hard to make ends meet. Nutritious food is so vital for kids to focus and reach their full potential in school, seniors living on a fixed income, and families who should not have to make a tough decision like putting food on the table or paying rent.

Luckily Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida has the support of an amazing community and partners that help feed as many people as possible in Central Florida, like run Disney! As the celebrated charity of the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend powered by Shokz, over 350,000 meals will be provided to children, families, and seniors in our community who are facing hunger. We could not be more grateful for our partnership, and the thousands of lives being changed for the better thanks to the generosity of run Disney!

“Outrunning Hunger is very important to us because no one should go to bed hungry or have to choose between feeding themselves or a family member. Right now in the world it is even more crucial because of people losing jobs when the pandemic hit and also the individuals without homes after Hurricane Ian. My sister and I grew up in a very large family; my mother had 9 children. She made sure that we were fed but sometimes it wasn’t easy. A memory that stands out is on Friday nights my mother would count out M&M’s and split cans of soda between the younger kids so that everyone would get some, and of course, it was fair. We choose to run for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida to raise donations because it provides meals for kid programs/ school, home delivery, etc. and education on nutrition. It is very important to provide food to single moms, senior citizens and also children.

Erin is the oldest of the 9 children and I am the 7th. We run a 5k race every year on Thanksgiving to raise money for a food pantry close to home. We are a close knit family so we even have people joining the run or cheering us on. This is not my first run Disney event. I try to run at least one a year because who doesn’t love running through the parks. This is Erin’s first run Disney event and I hope she will fall in love with it like I have. Erin thinks I am a little crazy because we are running as characters of Disney Lion King but that just makes the experience more fun!

Thank you for giving us a chance to give back to communities in need doing something we love!”

Second Harvest of Central Florida could not be more grateful for run Disney and our incredible volunteers and runners for coming together to help our community in such a huge way. If you’re joining us for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend, make sure you come say hi to us at the Health & Fitness Expo! We’ll also see you at the start line of all the races, and will be collecting any extra food from the snack boxes following the half marathon so we can distribute it to those in our community who need it most.

On behalf of our neighbors in need, thank you again to every volunteer, runner, and guest and especially run Disney for supporting Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s mission and helping change lives in our community. We think you all are the ultimate hunger heroes!

For more information on Second Harvest Food Band of Central Florida and how to get involved, please visit feedhopenow.org.