ORLANDO, Fla.  — Retired chef Yamira Johnson knows success as much as she knows struggle.

“I experienced homelessness at one point in my life and, if at that point, I had seen where I am today, I would not have believed it,” Johnson said.

Johnson now works to help ensure other struggling families, especially those within Central Florida’s Hispanic community, can have a place to turn to for help.

Just before 2012, Johnson and her friend Migdalia Maldonado co-founded Feed & Fortify. The nonprofit works to help struggling families obtain food, clothing, and other resources to help them get on their feed and avoid homelessness.

The pair said what sets their nonprofit apart is their ability to react quickly to a family’s request for help.

“She cares for people in a way that many people come into this office hopeless, but when they leave, they leave with a smile because of Migdalia,” Johnson said.