ORLANDO, Fla. – As summer break begins and school cafeterias close, some Central Florida families face a new challenge: making sure their children have enough to eat.
Thanks to a $20,000 donation from the Winn-Dixie Gives Foundation, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida is stepping in to help bridge the meal gap for local kids.
Half of the donation—$10,000—arrived in the form of food, including lunch and snack pack items, all organized into take-home meals for children who rely on free and reduced lunches during the school year. The remaining $10,000 will support club programs, covering meals, memberships and enrichment activities throughout the summer.
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“It’s a big deal,” said Jamie Merrill, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida. “I want my own kids to grow up healthy and happy. Every single parent, guardian, friend or people that love children want them to grow up happy and healthy and well nourished. Some people just don’t have the means to be able to do it. And that’s where we step in and the amazing partners that we have.”
Winn-Dixie associates volunteered Tuesday at the Orlando club’s Bradley-Otis Family Branch, helping unload food donations, packing nutritious lunch boxes and snack packs, and engage with local children.
The event was one of five similar donations across the Southeast, part of the grocer’s $100,000 commitment to fight food insecurity and “fund the fun” for local youth this summer.
The Winn-Dixie Gives Foundation is the charitable arm of Winn-Dixie, focusing on hunger relief, support for military families, disaster response and promoting inclusion and equity. The foundation aims to nourish and enrich communities across the Southeast, creating lasting, positive change.
For families facing a summer without school meals, Merrill says the support couldn’t come at a better time.
“Some people just don’t have the means to be able to do it. And that’s where we step in—and the amazing partners that we have,” Merrill said.