Orlando nonprofit damaged by Hurricane Ian celebrates big upgrade to their low-cost grocery
United Against Poverty Orlando (UP Orlando) can now serve more of our Central Florida individuals and families in need after installing brand-new freezers and coolers at its grocery shopping center near downtown Orlando. Every day, 450 families who are under the 200% Federal poverty line use the on-site Member Share Grocery Program (MSGP) to pick out a variety of nutritious foods that have a nominal shipping and handling fee. The program enables individuals and families to save money so they can pay their other monthly housing, utilities, transportation, childcare and medical bills. The brand-new freezers and coolers mean individuals and families can now buy chicken, meats, and dairy products to meet their nutritional needs while saving money.
The MSGP program is a low-cost grocery center offering nutritious groceries at a
60-70% reduced cost compared to a traditional grocer. During hurricane Ian, UP Orlando lost its outdated, not efficient coolers and freezers and they could not be repaired. That left individuals and families having to do without refrigerated or frozen foods or having to pay much more money for them at traditional grocery stores. This forced many individuals and families in Central Florida to choose between putting nutritious food on the table or paying housing, utility or other bills.
“We are already seeing a large increase in the number of people who are participants at the Member Share Grocery Program since we installed the new freezers and coolers,” says Anjali Vaya, Executive Director of United Against Poverty Orlando. “It means a lot to our clients who are under the 200% Federal poverty line to be able to provide themselves and their families with a variety of nutritious meats, dairy and other frozen foods while saving money every week.”
The cost of this upgrade was
$987,000. Vaya thanks UP Orlando’s corporate partners, community leaders and individuals who worked together to make this important project possible to serve thousands of Central Florida’s families in need every year.
United Against Poverty serves those in poverty by providing crisis care, case management, transformative education, food and household subsidy, employment training and placement, personal empowerment training and active referrals to other collaborative social service providers. Visit
UPOrlando.org for more information and follow us on social media.
Click here to see Channel 6 Interview:
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2024/01/31/united-against-poverty-orlando-celebrates-new-freezers-and-fridges-after-hurricane-hardships/
