ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Shereece Mitchell-Sanchez has been working tirelessly since 2021 to help feed people living and working in the Pine Hills community.
Mitchell-Sanchez runs a weekly food pantry through her nonprofit, Butterfly Lifestyle. Since she started the weekly giveaway, Mitchell-Sanchez has seen the demand for her help grow.
“So on a weekly basis, we could do in our like, 300 and up families — we count by families,” she said. “In August, we almost hit 5,000 individuals.”
Mitchell-Sanchez currently runs the pantry out of Rise Up Church, 4400 N. Powers Drive. She offers food to the community there every Friday.
“The line starts at 8 o’clock, even though we start at 11:30 (a.m.),” she said.
When Mitchell-Sanchez started handing out food, she was unable to partner with a larger food bank to provide meals. Despite that, she was undeterred and partnered with a church to provide a space for the pantry.
“The pastor said, ‘You know what, Second Harvest won’t work with us — they have too many partners or something like to that extent — but if you can find food, go for it,’” she said.
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So, she went about finding the food. Mitchell-Sanchez ended up partnering with restaurants, coffee shops and convenience stores to source her food. It’s a laborious practice that she still does today. She drives around Central Florida filling her cargo van with donated food.
“I have a few Wawas that I pick up at,” she said. “I’ve had people in the line come and say, ‘Hey, you know, I come to this pantry because I heard you give out Wawas. ‘”
Mitchell-Sanchez has since been able to partner with Second Harvest, allowing her to provide more fresh fruits and vegetables for the people she serves.
“Thursday is the big day when we go to Second Harvest. I rent a truck,” she said. “I will get maybe, like, a 15-footer, and then use my van, you know, and then we distribute food that way.”
Mitchell-Sanchez has accomplished all of this with a completely volunteer workforce.
On the latest episode of Florida Foodie, she talks more about her efforts to feed the community and the other services she provides. She also shares times when her ambitions to help people in need exceeded even her own expectations.
Check out the Florida Foodie podcast. You can find every episode in the media player below: