Orlando church hosts gas card giveaway as fuel prices reach record highs yet again

ORLANDO, Fla. — Gas prices in Florida and across the country have reached new highs again.

The average price for a gallon of regular in Florida is up to $4.53.

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Experts say gas prices typically reach their highest levels around Memorial Day, which is now less than a week away.

Because of these soaring prices, members of the Central Florida community are stepping in to help those who are struggling to make ends meet.

Nearly 400 people rely on Shereece Mitchell’s car to bring them food. Mitchell says she drives nearly 300 miles per week across Central Florida picking up and donating food through her non–profit organization “The Butterfly Lifestyle.”

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“I see it as a game, like a puzzle in my mind, “Mitchell explained. “Where it’s, ‘what’s the most effective way from my house?’”

Mitchell says she used to split the miles with nearly 10 volunteers, but as gas prices have risen, the operation has been reduced to an army of one.

AAA’s online gas tracker reports gas averages reaching $4.54 in Orange, Seminole and Osceola Counties.

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The average was just a single cent lower in Volusia County. In Brevard, it’s $4.48, up nearly two dollars from the same time last year.

Pastor Duron Dixon of The Kingdom Church of Orlando recently held a gas card giveaway in an effort to help people who are struggling to fill up their tanks.

“The people were grateful, and there was a need,” Pastor Dixon said.

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By the end, they handed out more than $6,000 worth of gas cards to hundreds of families, but eventually ran out.

Mitchell says she intends to keep trying to help, even if gas prices continue to rise.

“”For me personally, my belief is God’s always going to provide,” Mitchell said.

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Both Mitchell and Dixon say they need help to continue offering the assistance they’re providing now.

According to AAA the national average for a gallon of regular gas is nearly $4.60.

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