SEBRING, Fla. — In Highlands County, there's a non-profit that's providing fresh foods and meals for residents.
The Heartland Food Bank serves more "behind the scenes" to distribute food to about 40 other non-profits in Highlands County.
"Food banking and food pantries, you know, we're here to help, but to really get people out of food insecurity," Executive Director Bob McNeilley said. "It really takes a community. And right now the city of Sebring, the county commissioners, you know, we're all working to bring an industry, there's a lot of new restaurants, there's a lot of new plants being built here. And that's really what's going to help people get out of this cycle."
The need continues to grow here, too.
"Highlands County does have a high poverty level, so we're serving anywhere from 15 to 20,000 people. So we currently, as of now, we've we put about 1 million pounds of food into this community, which is up about 50% from last year. So as we know, with COVID, things have changed quite a bit and, and the need is not over yet," explained McNeilley.
Important to note: The Heartland Food Bank is not open to the public. They help distribute the food to their partners.
They do need volunteers, though. Click hereto find out how you can help.
