Food Pantry Seeks Donations for Give Day Tampa Bay 2016

TAMPA, FL – Nearly 600 nonprofit organizations across the region are participating today in Give Day Tampa Bay 2016. One Carrollwood charity is looking to double its donations from last year’s event to help the 15,000 residents it serves.

The Community Food Pantry is looking to raise $25,000 during Give Bay Tampa Bay 2016, which takes place from midnight on Tuesday, May 3 until 11:59 p.m. Officials at the pantry expect to serve 17,000 people this year.

“The need is great in our community,” said Monica Wilson, the director of The Community Food Pantry. “When you think of hungry families, most people think of the homeless, but that’s not the case. Mostly, it’s just people who have fallen on hard times and just need a hand-up.”

In honor of the 100th anniversary of community foundations nationwide, The Community Foundation of Tampa Bay developed Give Day Tampa Bay in 2014. The 24-hour online event designed to increase philanthropy and raise awareness of local nonprofits has raised $2.85 million in its first two years.

In conjunction with Give Day Tampa Bay 2016, the Community Food Pantry will also host Cookout for a Cause on May 3 at the pantry’s home at Village Presbyterian Church, 13115 S. Village Drive from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Burgers and hotdogs will be served and volunteers will help people make donations online. The organization also held two other fundraisers this weekend in honor of Give Day Tampa Bay 2016: A car wash at the church and participation of Beef O’Brady’s Northdale Spirit Day.

Since its founding in 2008, the Community Food Pantry has seen enormous growth in its services. It began as a few non-perishable items on a shelf at Village Presbyterian to assist people who came to the church asking for help. The pantry now takes up an entire half of the church’s administration office.

Last year, the pantry served 160,000 pounds of food. Thirty-seven percent of its clients are children and 13 percent are seniors. Thanks to donations from the community, the Community Food Pantry is also able to share their goods with Christian Social Services, Joshua House, McClain, Inc., and other organizations as they are able.

Aside from private donations, the Community Food Pantry receives daily donations from Publix, Whole Foods, Fresh Market and Feeding Tampa Bay. The organization requires 40 to 50 volunteers each week to collect, unload and stock the pantry along with assisting clients during its hours of operation from noon to 2 p.m. on Sundays and 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays.

“What makes us different is that we offer a shopping experience to our clients,” Wilson said. “We don’t prepackage what people receive so there is less waste. They choose what their family will eat.”

The Community Food Pantry is also helping others make a difference.

“We offer a summer ‘Youth Take Over the Pantry’ program and have many high school students who earn their community service hours at the pantry throughout the school year,” Wilson said. “Students from Jesuit High School, Tampa Catholic High School, Academy of the Holy Names, Bishop McLaughlin and our neighboring Gaither, Sickles, Steinbrenner, Chamberlain and Brooks DeBartolo high schools are regular volunteers at the pantry. Sports teams and even companies come and do team building while giving back.”

The food pantry is available to all people in the area bounded by County Line Road to the north, Nebraska Avenue to the east, Sligh Avenue to the south and Race Track Road to the west. Clients must show proof of residence and valid ID to receive services.

“If (someone) living outside the service area (contacts us), they will be given information on where to access services through Feeding Tampa Bay,” Wilson said.

To donate to the Community Food Pantry during Give Day Tampa Bay 2016, visit http://www.thecommunityfoodpantry.com/ or go to www.givedaytampabay.org and search for Community Food Pantry.

Images courtesy of Community Food Pantry

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