For the past sixteen years, Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida (GSSEF) has been hosting a council-wide community food drive. However, due to the restrictions that came along with the Coronavirus, local Girl Scouts had to get a bit creative with their efforts to make “Feeding Florida Together” still happen in the midst of a global pandemic.
The program was created in 2004 by Weston Girl Scout, Erica Blonde when she organized a food drive to help fill pantries all over Broward County as part of her Silver Award project, “Feeding Broward Together”. It had such a profound impact that GSSEF adopted the project and hold it every year in an effort to fill local food pantries.
Fast forward almost two decades and Girl Scout Troops from six counties continue to keep her legacy project alive. They recently distributed more than 12,490 pounds of food to thirteen different organizations across South Florida. One of these generous and passionate scouts involved in the collection was Marcela Lorza of Weston Troop 10088.
The ambitious pre-teen was extremely observant of what was happening around her during the early stages of the Coronavirus outbreak. She wanted to do whatever she could to help families and those in need during this time. To spread the word, some used social media while others scheduled “porch pickups” and used funds from their troop’s treasury. Marcela and her troop managed to collect many non-perishable items and donated their collection to the Broward Outreach Center.
“I wanted to participate in Feeding South Florida because I knew that due to the pandemic many have lost their jobs and needed my help. I was able to receive monetary donations from my parents, aunts, and grandpa. My mom then helped me order the food online,” explained Marcela. “It was a different experience than years past, but it was definitely worth it.”
