YOUR TOWN

Second Harvest expands its School Partnerships Program thanks to $115,150 grant

Second Harvest School Partnerships Program provides food assistance to students across Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties.

By Observer Staff
| 5:00 a.m. October 28, 2023

Derrick Chubbs, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank, speaks during an announcement Wednesday, Oct. 25. Courtesy photo

Ormond Beach Observer
Your Town

On Wednesday, Oct. 25, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida announced the expansion of its School Partnerships Program through a $115,150 grant provided by Aetna, a CVS health company.

The funding will help elementary, middle, high school and post-secondary institutions stock their markets and emergency pantries with nonperishable food items throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, according to a press relelase. Currently, 65 schools across Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties participate in the program, designed to give students and families access to the nutrition they need after school and on weekends.

“We continue to see more and more families — many for the first time — having to make difficult household budget decisions due to higher costs of necessities,” said Derrick Chubbs, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank. “This latest grant from Aetna will help us continue to support student-centered and stigma-reducing access to nutritious food for students and their families.”

Aetna Better Health of Florida publicly celebrated this event at Evans High School in Orlando.

“We’re committed to helping people in under-resourced communities achieve their best health and know that improving health starts with good nutrition," Aetna Better Health of Florida CEO Jennifer Sweet said. "Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida is doing great work providing healthy and safe food to students and, through this collaboration, we’re working together to support the health of our communities.”