‘Empty Bowls’ to benefit Manatee’s ‘mother’ food bank

The statistics regarding hunger in Manatee County are stark.

“Upwards of 18 percent of our people are living in poverty,” Cindy Sloan, vice president and director of The Food Bank of Manatee, said Monday. “And the vast majority are children.”

Under Sloan, The Food Bank of Manatee, sometimes called Manatee’s “mother” food bank, has become the largest hunger relief organization in Manatee County.

Demand has grown to where the bank, located on the campus of Meals on Wheels PLUS, 1816 Ninth St. W., Bradenton, now hands out 4.5 million pounds of food annually to more than 100 local food pantries, social service organizations and soup kitchens as well as helping families in crisis, Sloan said.

“When I got here 10 years ago, I would imagine we had 20 to 25 pantries operating on a regular basis,” Sloan said. “We did an outreach to local churches and now we have more than 65 pantries alone operating in Manatee County.”

One way The Food Bank of Manatee can keep its forklifts working and shelves stocked is through Empty Bowls Luncheons, which are being held Thursday at Renaissance on 9th in Bradenton and Friday on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch.

For $25, patrons get a unique ceramic bowl to keep and a selection of soups to choose from along with freshly baked bread and a dessert.

“Empty Bowls is our primary fundraiser,” Sloan said. “One hundred percent of the proceeds go to our food bank to help the hungry.”

The soup, bread and desserts are made and donated by area chefs and their restaurants, Sloan said.

When the Food Bank opened in 1983 it was taking in and giving out 400,000 pounds of food annually, Sloan said. But things changed drastically in 2007 when a group called Feeding America contacted area grocery stores on behalf of many food banks, including Manatee’s, and got them to donate food items that they would normally discard.

“We now pick up from 35 different grocery stores three times a week to collect food that would normally end up in our landfill,” Sloan said.

Roughly 2.5 million of the 4.5 million pounds of food the food bank takes in and gives out now comes from retail grocery stores, Sloan added.

“Empty Bowls is important because it gives us an opportunity to go into the community and raise awareness about hunger in Manatee County,” said Stephanie Grepling, a Manatee Food Bank spokeswoman. “It also actively involves the community. People get to dine with our donors and sponsors. It’s a great opportunity for everyone to come together and feed Manatee County.”

Bernie Gay, an eight-year volunteer at the food bank, said Empty Bowls is a choice he can get behind.

“If you want to help out the hungry, that’s the way to do it,” Gay said. “Plus, you get fed yourself.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2016 at 5:03 PM with the headline "‘Empty Bowls’ to benefit Manatee’s ‘mother’ food bank."