If you’ve been around for any length of time, you’ve probably heard the name United Way. But there’s another name you may not be as familiar with: ALICE.

At United Way Lake & Sumter, we have a heart for ALICE.

ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, hard-working friends and neighbors in Lake and Sumter counties who are living paycheck to paycheck and often one emergency away from financial disaster.

It may surprise you to learn that nearly 50 percent of Lake County households fall into the ALICE population. In Sumter County, that number is 38 percent.

“It’s hard to imagine having to choose between paying the rent, putting food on the table or taking your child to the doctor, but it’s reality for many in our community,” says Keith Barsuhn, president and CEO of United Way.

Food insecurity is a growing problem in the community and it sits at the heart of the work at United Way Lake & Sumter. Tens of thousands of dollars have been allocated to various partner agencies as the organization works alongside groups committed to feeding the hungry.

Thanks to community generosity and partnerships with Farm Share and Kroger, United We Give, the organization’s pre-Thanksgiving food distribution event, provided meals for 400 families in 2024.

By the end of 2025, demand skyrocketed, in part due to the government shutdown and the pause in SNAP benefits. Once again, support from partners and donors made it possible to provide Thanksgiving meals for 600 families.

Those families include people like Kim, a single mother of a son with special needs who drives an hour to work each day for a job that pays enough to keep a roof over her head and food on the table — most of the time.

“We’re starting over, and I know God’s going to provide,” Kim says. “I am giving myself grace that I needed a little extra help this year, and I really appreciate it.”

Volunteers from Beacon College, Tri-County Women Veterans and Villages Subaru all pitched in to support the effort.

Donations were also used to distribute $50,000 in emergency support to partner organizations on the front lines of food insecurity, including The Salvation Army, the Wildwood Soup Kitchen and the Neighborhood Center of South Lake.

“Your donation of $10,000 allows us to provide $90,000 worth of nutritious groceries — enough for 150 families with $600 toward their monthly food budget,” says Patricia Kry, CEO of the Neighborhood Center of South Lake.

While Kroger partners have closed the doors at their Groveland facility, they have made a generous donation toward future United We Give events and other food insecurity programs. Still, more work remains.

Those interested in helping can scan the QR code, visit uwls.org/donate or call 352-787-7530.

As the organization often says, when one member of the community thrives, everyone wins.