Universal Orlando and Second Harvest partner to help families eat healthier

ORLANDO, Fla. — Universal Orlando Resort and Second Harvest Food Bank are partnering to increase access to healthy food and nutrition education to thousands of families and school students across Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties through the Bites, Camera, Action! program.

Bites, Camera, Action! is a mobile nutrition program with two separate goals: to provide homeless families with nutritious food and to teach school students about healthy nutrition and food preparation. Since 2013, the program has benefited nearly 2,400 students at four Orange County middle schools and more than 350 people living in transitional homeless sites.

“The Universal Orlando Foundation continually seeks ways to tackle community needs,” said Diane O’Dell, Vice President, Community and Diversity Relations, Universal Orlando Resort.  “The Bites, Camera, Action program is a fantastic way for Universal Orlando and our team members to give back to the community and help teach school children in our area about the importance of healthy nutrition.”

Nutritious Food Deliveries To Homeless Sites

Each Monday, the program delivers food to transitional homeless sites across the three counties. Since its inception, the truck has delivered nearly 5,000 family food boxes – equaling more than 95,000 pounds of food.  In the last four months, the truck has also delivered more than 230,000 pounds of food to 23 Second Harvest partner agencies.  This has freed up nearly $10,000 in delivery fees, enabling these agencies to secure and distribute more food into their communities.

Nutritional Education And Food Preparation At Local Schools

Each Wednesday in partnership with Orlando After-School All-Stars, the Bites, Camera, Action! food truck travels to Orange County schools – including Memorial Middle, Jackson Middle, Howard Middle and Carver Middle – to provide students with a cooking demonstration with a Universal Orlando chef, a food truck tasting and nutritious food to take home to their families.  Representatives from Second Harvest Food Bank also provide nutrition education through a game show-inspired program.

“We’re so thrilled to be able to offer both nutritional food and nutrition education to low-income middle school kids through the partnership with Universal Orlando Resort,” said Dave Krepcho, President & CEO, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.   “We have a real opportunity to change the future nutritional direction of this often-overlooked age group.  We have found that nearly 81 percent of the students increased their knowledge of healthy eating during the first year of the program.”

Bites, Camera, Action! is staffed by volunteer Team Members from Universal Orlando Resort, Second Harvest Food Bank and Orlando After-School All-Stars.

WFTV