Food scarcity is a stressful predicament faced by struggling families any time of the year, but especially during the holiday season. Hilldrup Orlando was honored to assist with an opportunity to support such families through a local food drive hosted by the generous residents of and volunteers at the Laureate Park of Lake Nona neighborhood in Orlando, FL.

This year marks Hilldrup’s third year assisting with the annual food drive that’s made possible thanks to the generosity, time and efforts of dozens of local volunteers. The food donations – including stuffing, potatoes, canned corn and green beans, applesauce and so much more – was collected and organized into baskets for transport.

Hilldrup Orlando’s Bobbi Winfield, Move Coordinator; Jeff Swim, Operations Manager; and Kurt Smith, Local Planner ensured the pick-up and delivery went seamlessly under the direction of Orlando’s VP and GM, Ed Fitzgerald.

James Lewis and Al Fisher of our Operations team tackled the pickup of the food baskets and delivered to the Embrace Families’ office in Sanford, FL. Despite a rainy forecast, the duo ensured that everything was transported carefully and on time.

A note to Team Hilldrup from Julie Poluski, who led the Thanksgiving food drive, shared, “THANK YOU! I appreciate your help with the Thanksgiving drive and your support every year. These baskets will provide meals for 150 families, serving over 300 children. You guys are the best!”

We were honored to assist and be a part of this incredible event once again!

Thanks to the residents and volunteers at the Laureate Park neighborhood in Orlando, FL, a Thanksgiving food drive brought in 150 baskets of food donations for underserved families in the community.

Residents and volunteers carefully filled each basket with the Thanksgiving food donations that were generously given by the Laureate Park community.

Each of the 150 Thanksgiving food donation baskets were carefully loaded, transported and unloaded with the assistance of Hilldrup and many generous volunteers of all ages!

Each of the food donation baskets were delivered to the Embrace Families organization in Sanford, FL. Embrace Families is inspired by their mission of being champions for children and families by transforming their lives through innovative, community-driven solutions.

Thank you to James Lewis and Al Fisher of Team Hilldrup – and each of the kind, generous volunteers we met and worked with on this project – for making a Thanksgiving meal possible for 150 local families!

Ed Fitzgerald Author