Food Bank of Manatee losing its No. 1 supplier of food

Feeding Tampa Bay will no longer be supporting the Food Bank of Manatee beginning July 1 under a new business plan to consolidate the distribution of food to area food pantries and soup kitchens, which have historically relied on the local distribution center.

Manatee County is one of 10 counties Feeding Tampa Bay supports. Feeding Tampa Bay is listed as Feeding America's primary partner agency in the area, which has full control over its own distribution partners. The Food Bank of Manatee typically receives half of its 4.2 million pounds of food a year from Feeding Tampa Bay but will now have to find its own path to serving local pantries.

Jayci Peters, Feeding Tampa Bay's communications director, said the organization has already rolled out new distribution plans and eliminated its subcontractors in Polk, Pasco and Pinellas counties.

"We still have a couple more," Peters aid. "We are trying to go to a much more mobile delivery and less brick and mortar. The idea behind the transition is direct distribution to 550 organizations that feed people in need across our counties."

Peters said the idea behind the transition is to connect local feeding agencies with grocery store donors.

"It cuts out the need for transportation eventually," Peters said. "Rather than picking up from Manatee or Feeding Tampa Bay, those smaller partner agencies can go directly to those grocery stores."

Peters said it will be more efficient in the end, but she understands that key aspects of the transition will take some time.

Local feeding organizations, primarily small pantries, are nervous on what it all means. They will either have to pick up from Feeding Tampa Bay with additional transportation costs or be charged more for direct delivery.

"We certainly don't want to devalue the concerns," Peters said. "Anytime there is a change there is always a concern about how it will affect the program. We are certain that agencies will not be acquiring additional costs if, for example, we are able to connect those agencies with the Publix down the street. There is no cost other than to pick up the food."

Under the new arrangement. Food Bank of Manatee will not be able to pick up donated items from 39 local stores that donate because of their relationships with Feeding America.

Peters said the program is working in counties closer to FTB. She insists FTB will be even more helpful to local distributors than the current system. She acknowledged that for now, "There will be a multi-pronged approach with several different methods in how we serve agencies and our goal is to make sure they get what they need."

Peters said whether an agency is shopping at Feeding Tampa Bay's facility, getting a direct delivery or setting up drop-off hubs where two or more agencies can share a truck, "Our focus right now is to find out what works for each agency and what direction they want to take their program."

The effect on Food Bank of Manatee?

"We aren't going anywhere," said Maribeth Phillips, president and executive officer of Meals on Wheels Plus. "Watching what happened in the other counties, maybe this didn't come as much of a surprise. We want to stay positive about this, but we don't know yet what the impact will be. Half of our stock comes from our own events and we have many other sources."

The food bank doesn't just distribute food to local pantries or provide seniors with hot meals. It offers baby baskets to children up to the age of 2, emergency food when law enforcement runs into domestic situations and a summer weekend bags program for kids out of schoo.l The Kiwanis Foundation just donated funds for a mobile produce truck.

"We just have to wait and see how this whole distribution is going to work in Manatee County, but we are going to be there for our partners," Phillips said. "We care about feeding people in Manatee County and we will do everything we can to support our residents and their pantries."

Peters said the Food Bank of Manatee can do whatever it wishes.

"We are working through that transition right now," Peters said. "We are in conversations as to whether they are just an agency partner or managing it on their own independently. Our operation model is focused on more delivery and it's proving to be a success. We are still working through the details in Manatee County."

According to an email sent out by Phillips on June 12 to the food bank's local partners, communication between FTB and the food bank has essentially stopped though meetings are planned. Phillips said FTB invited all those concerned to a recent town hall meeting, but she said she did not receive a response back when she inquired to the date and time of the meeting.

"Despite our written and verbal requests to FTB, we were not informed of or invited to the town hall meeting. ... FTB chose to terminate our Feeding America contract. We were not offered an extension," the email went on to inform local pantry operators.

Beth Houhgton, executive director of the St. Petersburg Free Clinic and Food Pantry, doesn't believe Feeding Tampa Bay's actions are financially motivated unless it's to provide more services.

"Our relationship with Feeding Tampa Bay has been very good," Houghton said. "It has really focused on both agencies doing the most for people that need food then to figure out who can do what best. That's my understanding for what is happening in Manatee County as well. Compared to two to three years ago, we are doing much more directly and Feeding Tampa Bay is doing much less directly, but they are very supportive and we work back and forth together in significant ways."

Houghton said the value on a pound of food on the market is about $1.70, much more than what Feeding Tampa Bay charges.

"Basically when (Feeding Tampa Bay chief executive officer) Thomas Mantz took over, he was asking are you in a position to and willing to step up to warehouse and distribute food from grocery stores in your geography," Houghton said. "It took a financial commitment and board approval, but we spent $1.5 million on a new warehouse and hundreds of thousands of dollars on trucks and drivers and so froth."

In the end, her agency has increased distribution dramatically but acknowledged the small pantry operator can't do that.

"They still come to us and I'd imagine the same will happen in Manatee County," she said.

Peters said she understands the concerns local officials might have.

"I do think it's important for us to understand that there will be a lot of agencies in Manatee County that are going to wonder what's going to happen," Peters said. "We've run into this before but are fully confident that what we've deployed in other counties will work in Manatee County. Individuals and families in Manatee County are incredibly important to us and we will make sure they have the resources they need."

In the meantime, the Food Bank of Manatee County isn't going to go away. Phillips said the need and demand is too high and there will be plenty of small feeding organizations that will still rely on them for distribution.

"What I can say is that I know Manatee County so I'm putting out a call to action for donations and volunteers. It's more important now than ever that we keep these shelves stocked and Manatee County residents fed," she said.

Volunteers can contact Scot Moeckel, volunteer coordinator at smoeckel@foodbankofmanatee.org.

This story was originally published June 19, 2018 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Food Bank of Manatee losing its No. 1 supplier of food."