Community Donors Raise Nearly $900,000 for Holiday Food Relief

WESH 2’s four decade long Share Your Christmas campaign delivered record results this year, raising $887,888 and collecting 82,746 pounds of food across its Central Florida collection sites on December 16. Organizers estimate the monetary donations will translate into roughly 3.6 million meals when converted through Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s distribution metrics, with physical food now being packed for immediate distribution.

The event brought together television viewers, local businesses and nonprofit partners. Major contributors included Disney with a $150,000 gift, a corporate competition led by HDR Construction that produced 35,000 pounds of food, and an unlocked match from Cool Today for $10,000. Individual donors and community groups also made sizeable contributions, including a $10,000 donation from Frank and Angela De Luca. Volunteers from organizations such as Nemours Children’s Health and local high schools and sororities assisted with packing and site operations.

For Seminole County residents the impact is direct. Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and its partner agencies serve the region and will direct the combined cash and food donations to food pantries, senior programs and school based distribution that serve Seminole families. Marion County organizers noted an equivalent of 40,000 meals generated for that county alone, illustrating how pooled resources translate into tangible local distributions across the six county service area.

The scale of this year’s drive underscores persistent local demand for food assistance as families, seniors and working households face affordability pressures. The campaign also highlights how corporate giving and grassroots donations can amplify each other. From a policy perspective, community drives remain an essential complement to public programs, but the volume of need signaled by nearly a million dollars raised points to broader strains on household budgets that civic leaders and service providers will need to address beyond the holiday season.

Donations collected on December 16 are being packed and routed by Second Harvest and partner agencies now, with distribution planned across Central Florida in the coming days to reach households in time for the holidays.