ORLANDO, Fla. – EMTs carried equipment into the back entrance of the Christian Service Center in Downtown Orlando on Sunday.
It was barely 11 a.m., but already, a volunteer had passed out from the heat.
The volunteers from Neighborhood Fridge and Chxnge were preparing to serve brunch to dozens of people, and while providing food to those who needed it was the goal, keeping everyone cool was foremost on their minds.
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“I can’t imagine how bad it’ll get for somebody who has to actually be out in the heat for extended hours at a time. Just trying to get food, water,” said Erick Louis with Chxnge.
A nonprofit health group called 26Health brought its mobile unit, but popular items included free hand fans, sunglasses and cooling towels, kept in a cooler full of ice.
Those waiting to eat huddled under a large canopy to escape the sun. Fans ran full tilt, blowing air on people who seemed wilted. Few were interested in talking or even moving. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but it was better than being on the street.
Sunday broke no temperature records. The high in Orlando was 91, but the heat index pushed “feels-like” temperatures close to 100.
On Saturday, the “feels-like” temperatures went as high as 105 degrees.
“When the ‘feels like’ temperature goes above 100 degrees F, your body struggles to cool down. This is because high temperatures and humidity make it harder for sweat to evaporate, which is how we cool off. As a result, the risk of heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion and heat stroke increases,” said News 6 Chief Meteorologist Candace Campos.
However, hunger doesn’t stop because it’s hot outside, especially when people don’t have a choice.
The Christian Service Center allows community partners like Chxnge and Neighborhood Fridge to use their facility to feed people on Sundays. Executive Director Eric Gray says the center partners with about 25 community groups, who rotate Sunday food service. The tented area is also available seven days a week as a cooling location.
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Gray said they tend to see a higher need for food in the summer, as the heat causes people to burn through calories faster. Clothes and shoes also break down faster.
In addition to the hot breakfast, volunteers handed out water and lemonade. They filled reusable bottles with ice. They also brought out grapes and salad. Eating fruits and vegetables can help with hydration.
A box of mangoes went especially fast.
“You’ve got mangoes? We’re eating good today!” one man exclaimed.
In addition to stocking community fridges and pantries, Neighborhood Fridge distributes items useful in hot weather – water bottles, electrolyte packets and drinks, sunscreen, and rain ponchos.
“Things that are essential for people living outdoors in this heat, in this weather. We do have a whole list on our Instagram at Neighborhood Fridge,” said founder Katherine Franco.
It depends on what they can get, though. The small nonprofit runs off community donations and volunteers.
“Running this distribution, we cook between 200 and 300 meals and we’re here every second and fourth Sunday,” said Franco. “It gets really expensive.”
Normally, Chxnge’s volunteers go directly to homeless encampments to provide services. Louis said that’s a task that’s gotten harder ever since Florida’s new public camping law forced local governments to outlaw camping in public.
“These are people that even the Christian Service Center is not able to necessarily interact with or engage because they’re just so out of the way,” Louis said.
News 6 was there in April as Chxnge helped homeless people leave an encampment that the city of Orlando was breaking up.
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Orlando police have logged 68 arrests since Jan. 1, 15 occurring in June, according to court records.
Louis says the camping ban has made it harder to find the people who need the help. He worries that people trying to avoid arrest will lose out on resources and get sick, or worse, because of the heat.
“It’s just frustrating to be somebody who’s doing this work outside with these people. You build relationships with them, you hear their stories, and that doesn’t seem to be of significance or cause of concern to these, you know, policymakers,” Louis said.
Orange County lists its parks, libraries and community centers as places people can go to escape the heat during the day on the county government’s website.
A spokesperson for the City of Orlando says it is not offering an official cooling center because the location the city partnered with last year was not available.
Down the road from the Christian Service Center, at the Downtown Orlando Library, a crowd of people waited at the entrance. The library is a popular refuge from the outdoors for homeless people. It doesn’t open on Sunday until 1 p.m.