Hosted by VUCF and Straight Street Orlando, the Sunday Knight Food Share caters to the local homeless and need-based population of Orlando by providing food, water and other services, such as clothing drives and haircuts.
With a mission and statement in mind, on Sept. 1, 2009 a local pastor by the name of PJ Charles founded the food share at Lake Eola Park and in August of the same year, one of the parenting non-profit organizations – Straight Street Orlando. When Volunteer UCF partnered with the food share, weekly volunteering took off.
“I started the food share after a mission trip to Bolivia in the summer of 2009,” PJ Charles said. “I realized that church organizations spend millions of dollars a year to offer spiritual and physical relief to countries all over the world. Whereas there is importance in that, I realized there is just as great a need here at home.”
Shortly before the founding of the food share, another group, the American Civil Liberties Union, won the two-year highly publicized “homeless feeding” lawsuit in Orlando, which nulled the ordinance made by city officials barring the feeding of homeless in public parks. Less than three years later would the First Amendment claim be overturned, with city officials stating that the ordinance included a reasonable place, time and manner restriction on their First Amendment rights.
The food share would then move to the Church of Saint George, where their private parking lot now provides an area exempt from the ordinance.
The idea of VIP treatment, where volunteers interact with the homeless and where food remains served to recipients rather than prepared buffet-style, would set this organization apart from other food-providing services.
“It is a unique volunteer event in that volunteers get one-on-one interaction with the people they serve,” said Alice Neira, the current Hunger and Homelessness director of Volunteer UCF. “Unlike other organizations, where you may sort donations or refill shelves to help others indirectly, at the Sunday Knight Food Share we get to see the direct impact on those in need.”
With a faith-based side at the weekly event to provide support for the Orlando denizens, those who arrive to receive a meal can also expect a side of anecdotes central to perseverance and persistence that can be applied to their lives in the following week. Ny’a Crum, the Marketing Director for Straight Street Orlando, leads their developmental worship.
“We not only feed the homeless physically but we feed them spiritually as well. This allows us to change lives and make an impact that will last a long time,” said Crum.
From a mere six volunteers when the first plate was served to up to sixty-five volunteers today, weekly attendance has more than quadrupled. Sixty attended the first event, and now Straight Street Orlando meets the need of 400+ on a weekly basis. SSO has since expanded the food share to twice a week, with events held every Sunday and Tuesday.
The first meals put together were peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. Through donations from students, families, and third-party restaurants, meals now provide families with something to meet even their most basic needs.
“It has become a passion of mine, I’m learning to love and appreciate the homeless of our city,” Charles said. “I have come to realize that they are most often seen and treated as a demographic of low value and importance. Our mission has become to not just feed the hungry, but to love the unlovable and teach those of us who are more fortunate to do the same.”
Volunteers can participate in the weekly held Sunday Knight Food Share by signing up through Knight Connect.
Students can also donate meals, beverages, and desserts in any capacity at the Sunday Knight Food Share by contacting the VUCF Director of Hunger and Homelessness, Alice Neira, at vucf_hunger@ucf.edu.
