Florida food bank aims to feed more families by going solar
November 22, 2022
Originally published on WESH 2 Orlando (NBC)
The Southeastern Food Bank aims to feed more families by going solar, thanks to a gift from Freedom Solar Power.
The company installed a $113,000 solar array at the food bank in Winter Garden. The CEO, Mark Anthony, says this will help offset the energy costs and lead their mission of feeding 50,000 food-insecure children, older people and families in Central Florida this holiday season.
“With rising inflation costs in 2022, more families are struggling to afford basic food necessities, making this a critical time to support those in need as we enter the holiday giving season,” said Freedom Solar CEO Bret Biggart. “We are honored to partner with Southeastern Food Bank to support their vital mission of feeding the hungry in Central Florida.”
Freedom Solar installed 71 solar panels on the roof of the dry storage warehouse. It is capable of producing more than 47,200 kilowatt-hours of electricity every year. That is enough clean, renewable energy to power 70% of the nonprofit’s annual energy use.
The food bank expects to save $236,000 in energy costs over the lifetime of the system and will make it possible to feed an additional 800 local families. The new solar installation was completed with zero out-of-pocket cost to Southeastern Food Bank.
“By eliminating our rising electricity costs, we expect to expand our services to feed hundreds more across the 26 counties that depend on us. I want to thank Bret and his team for helping make that possible,” said Anthony.
The food bank hopes to feed 1,200 families on Thanksgiving at West Orlando Baptist Church located at 1006 E. Crown Point Road at 8 a.m.
