HCA Florida Healthcare donates $20,000 and 300 hours of service

Orlando, FL — HCA Florida Healthcare colleagues in Central Florida are celebrating National Volunteer Month through their continued commitment to fighting food insecurity. Nearly 100 HCA Florida Healthcare volunteers from 26 sites of care across Central Florida came together at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida on April 16 and will return on April 23 to help sort food donations. On April 16, HCA Florida Healthcare leaders and volunteers also presented a $20,000 donation to help Second Harvest provide food to families experiencing hunger.

“At HCA Florida Healthcare, our mission is above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life. Second Harvest shares a similar mission in caring for and improving life by combatting hunger in our community,” said Cullen Brown, CEO of HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital. “We are really excited to partner with Second Harvest and give back to the communities in which we live and work.”

A mission-driven organization, HCA Florida Healthcare strives to address critical needs in the community. The organization has chosen fighting hunger as one of their priorities for improving health and wellness in the communities they serve. The organization Feeding America estimates one in eight people, and one in five children, in Central Florida live in households that may be food insecure, which means not having enough nutritious food to have an active, healthy life.

“Community partners like HCA Florida Healthcare are the reason we were able to provide 81 million meals to children, families and seniors experiencing hunger in Central Florida last year,” said Dan Samuels, director of philanthropy at Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. “Thanks to HCA Florida Healthcare’s continued support, many of our neighbors facing hunger will have access to the food they need to stabilize their lives and get back on their feet.”

This year’s We Show Up initiative brings HCA Florida Healthcare’s total contribution to Second Harvest to $50,000, more than 5,000 pounds of food and more than 500 volunteer hours since the partnership began in 2021.

About Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida

SHFBCF is a member of Feeding America – the largest charitable domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States. SHFBCF secures and distributes food and grocery products to more than 750 local nonprofit feeding partners throughout Central Florida. With the help of food and financial donors, volunteers and a caring, committed community, the food bank distributes 300,000 meals every day to a seven-county service area, which includes Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia. Feeding neighbors facing hunger is only the beginning. By investing in job training programs, advocating for access to nutritious foods, and inspiring our community to get involved, SHFBCF is leaning into the root causes of hunger and helping our neighbors thrive. With support from the Central Florida community, Second Harvest Food Bank is feeding inspiration, change, achievement, health — and families facing hunger. To learn more about SHFBCF, visit FeedHopeNow.org.