ORLANDO, Fla. – With less than three weeks before the start of hurricane season, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is teaming up with local businesses to prepare to help families when a disaster strikes.
On Tuesday, nearly two dozen volunteers with Abbott Laboratories assembled 1,000 disaster relief packs.
Officials said 500 of the boxes were packed for families of two, and the other half were made for families of four.
Each of the packs can meet a family’s nutritional needs for three days, which is what happened for some during last hurricane season, according to Second Harvest.
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“After Hurricane Milton, the Abbott boxes were one of the first things we put out in the community,” Chief Development Officer Greg Higgerson said. “People needed that hydration. They needed nutrition, so Ensure and Pedialyte and things like that, they are made by Abbott, are one of the key things we can put out in the community.”
The packs will be stored at Second Harvest Food Bank until needed and can be quickly deployed within hours to provide a first wave of aid to families in need.
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This is the 8th year that Abbott, Second Harvest and Feeding America have worked together to stock disaster relief packs in Florida.
Nationally, Abbott and Feeding America have worked together on the disaster pack initiative since 2006, providing more than 700,000 people with needed nutrition following a hurricane, tornado, or other disaster.
The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.
For more details about Second Harvest Food Bank’s disaster relief efforts, click here.