Apopka food pantry celebrates 40 years of service

APOPKA, Fla. – Over the last 40 years, Loaves and Fishes in Apopka has provided much-needed support to the west Orange County community and beyond.

“This is an amazing organization, started back in 1984 out of a little room here in Apopka, just giving a bag of rice, and we have grown into this, we are celebrating our 40^th year,” said Lory Reeves, director at Loaves and Fishes. “What we do is, we give a supplemental bag of food along with another bag full of produce, protein, breads and sweets to low-income families.”

Many factors may contribute to the need for assistance, such as disability, loss of job, being a single parent, or being a retiree on a fixed income. Every week, Loaves and Fishes provides supplemental food to over 300 low-income families and individuals.

“We’re so blessed to serve our clients in this community. We serve a nine-zip code area, which is in and around the Apopka area, Altamonte Springs and Longwood,” Reeves said.

In order to feed these families, Loaves and Fishes relies solely on donations and does not receive any assistance from the government. These families, especially elderly people on fixed incomes, rely heavily on the non-profit organization for support.

AdventHealth has been a longstanding partner of the organization. Earlier this year, the health care organization donated $25,000 to the food pantry, one of the highest single monetary donations made to the group.

“AdventHealth’s mission of extending the healing ministry of Christ and the promise to feel whole isn’t just about what happens within the walls of our own facilities, it’s about supporting our community as a whole,” said Parker Pridgen, CEO of AdventHealth Apopka. “Partnering with strong not-for-profit organizations like Loaves and Fishes is a great way for us to empower and channel resources to folks that do work that aligns with our mission.”

Reeves says people love to donate food during the holidays, but during summertime their food pantry gets depleted because donation falls to an all-time low.

Those interested in learning more about the organization or making a donation, can visit the Loaves and Fishes website.

“AdventHealth has been a huge supporter of our organization.” Reeves added.