Local hospital and sports groups fund holiday meals for students

AdventHealth, together with the Orlando Magic, Florida Citrus Sports and Second Harvest Food Bank, announced a grant program on December 1, 2025 designed to keep meals flowing to students and families in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties during the holiday break when school cafeterias are closed. The funds will support schools and community partners in planning and delivering food access options so families do not lose access to school provided meals during the pause in in school service.

The announcement cited the number of regional students who rely on school meals as a primary reason for the initiative. Local schools and community organizations will be eligible to receive grants that cover meal production, distribution logistics and outreach to families who face food insecurity during school breaks. Second Harvest Food Bank will provide expertise on food distribution and volunteer mobilization while the Orlando Magic and Florida Citrus Sports will help with community outreach and event logistics. AdventHealth will be the program funder and coordinator.

For Seminole County residents the grants could translate into expanded meal pick up points, distributed meal kits, or collaboration with existing summer and after school feeding programs to bridge the holiday period. For families that depend on school breakfast and lunch for daily nutrition, the program reduces the immediate risk of missed meals and the short term health and learning consequences that follow. For local schools the funding reduces the financial and administrative burden of organizing stopgap feeding efforts.

The partnership illustrates a growing model of cross sector collaboration between health care, sports organizations and food banks to address local food insecurity. By targeting school break periods, the program aligns with public health priorities to reduce nutrition related needs that affect educational outcomes and health care utilization. Long term, such targeted grants can complement district and county policies on food access and inform future planning for consistent meal coverage through holiday and other extended school closures.