Addition Financial volunteers deliver over a ton of food to school pantries

More than a ton of food is now moving through school pantries in Seminole County and nearby, after Addition Financial volunteers collected about 2,150 pounds of non-perishable items in a two-month drive at branches and headquarters. The haul, valued at an estimated $4,524, went to needs pantries at Engelwood Elementary School in Orlando, Millennium Middle School in Sanford and Lakeview Elementary School in St. Cloud.

The donation goes beyond a one-time act of corporate charity. Addition Financial’s 2025 Renovate to Educate program shifted from classroom makeovers to school needs spaces stocked with food, clothing, toiletries and other supplies, a change that reflects how often schools are filling gaps for families under pressure. At Millennium Middle, the pantry is part of a broader Falcon Store that will serve as a one-stop shop for students, combining school swag with a food pantry, clothing closet and personal hygiene items.

School staff say the need is real and immediate. Millennium Middle school administration manager Jania Fuller said the renovation restored dignity to the experience and that partner returns to restock the space help reinforce stability and community. Cristina Lehman, executive director of the Addition Financial Foundation, said the renovated pantries were created to be living resources, not one-time projects, and that continuing to stock them helps ensure students and families have reliable access to food so they can focus on learning and growth.

The scale at Millennium underscores why the pantry matters. School staff say about 75% of the school’s nearly 1,400 students are economically disadvantaged and about 100 are homeless. Across Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties, the Addition Financial Foundation said more than 15,000 students are experiencing homelessness. In Seminole County, local reporting said the number of homeless students reached 3,485 in 2025, up 32% from 2,640 in 2023.

Addition Financial said dozens of volunteers, working with Seminole State College’s Interior Design Program, painted, built furniture, organized supplies and stocked the renovated spaces, and in one school laid new flooring. The credit union also said its North Florida and South Georgia employees donated 691 pounds of food to Second Harvest of the Big Bend, extending the effort beyond Central Florida. In Seminole County, where Seminole County Public Schools says its Families in Need program supports students under McKinney-Vento protections, the pantry shelves suggest a larger truth: the demand is not disappearing, and schools are becoming part of the safety net.