Pantries pray the pain of a potential food shortage is temporary
Like a scene out of "Hunger Games," Manatee County families struggling to make ends meet are worried there won't be enough food to go around, at least in the short-term, when Feeding Tampa Bay ends its long-time distribution partnership with the Food Bank of Manatee beginning July 1.
They are families like Lorraine Young who is elderly, walks with a roller and cares for her grandson.
She exited the Church of the Cross food pantry on Friday with two bags of groceries dangling from her roller handles. Young said if there was a temporary shortage, she would survive.
"For now. It really helps us get by," Young said. "Sometimes you have a choice to buy food or pay bills, so this makes it easier to choose paying the bills."
Feeding Tampa Bay didn't give a lot of notice it was going to end its contract with the Food Bank of Manatee. An email was sent out June 12 saying there would not be a renewal of the contract, nor would there be an extension. It simply informed the Food Bank of Manatee the contract would terminate on July 1.
FTB claims the organization's new business model will meet Manatee County's needs, but pantry operators are worried about the immediate impact.
"It's scary," said Church of the Cross food pantry co-director Myriam Reyes. "(FTB) said in the article I read that they will take care of us, but we haven't heard from them. We just have to trust in God that they will take care of our pantry."
Church of the Cross distributes food boxes every other Friday, putting essentials into the hands of nearly 140 families. There are similar scenarios playing out across the county on various days of the weeks. Like Church of the Cross, the majority of the food has come from the Food Bank of Manatee and nearly half of its supply had come from FTB.
Discussions regarding the July 1 transition are expected to begin this week and despite being cut out of the process, it's the Food Bank of Manatee keeping the pantries informed as best it can. Church of the Cross food pantry co-director Bill Reyes confirmed that FTB has yet to reach out to anyone.
"We didn't know anything about this until two weeks ago," he said. "We just hope the Food Bank of Manatee will be able to pick up the slack for us. We've relied on them for a long time and they know us, they know our needs. I don't know anything about Feeding Tampa Bay, so yeah, we are worried."
Katiane Pierre is a young working mom with five children. With two of her youngest in tow on Friday, Pierre was visiting Church of the Cross for the first time, butshe has leaned on other area food pantries in time of need.
"Sometimes things get tough," she said. "I work full time but sometimes I just need a little help for my kids and coming to a place like this really helps us through those tight times."
So what's going to happen on July 1 and the weeks to follow?
FTB pledges its new business model will eventually make it easier for local pantries by connecting them directly to local grocery store donors. But officials acknowledge that key parst of the model will take some time. In the interim, pantries can either drive to Tampa to pick up food or be charged for a direct delivery.
Myram Reyes said she feels comfortable that there is enough existing stock to carry the pantries forward for a couple of weeks.
"We just don't have an answer after that," she said. "The people who come here really need this help and the unknown is what makes this very scary for all of us."
The Food Bank of Manatee is not only losing half of its supplies but also its 39 local donor grocery stores. FTB's business model is to eliminate the proverbial middle man for a more efficient delivery distribution across its 10 counties of operation.
The Food Bank of Manatee has no intention of stopping its services to local agencies who help feed local residents in need, and pledges to continue its many other programs that have a direct impact in Manatee County. It also has received a boost from All Faiths Food Bank in Sarasota.
CEO Sandra Frank said All Faiths Food Bank is aware of the situation and will lend its support to Manatee County.
"As Manatee County is our neighbor to the north, we are here to offer support and encouragement through this transition and remain totally committed to ending hunger for those who need assistance throughout our region," Frank said an email.
All Faiths Food Bank has no affiliation to Feeding Tampa Bay and distributed 10.2 million pounds of food in its own areas of Desoto and Sarasota counties.
Food Bank of Manatee director Maribeth Phillips is calling on the community to help ensure local residents don't fall into a gap during and after the transition.
To find out more, visit foodbankofmanatee.org or to volunteer, email Volunteer Coordinator Scot Moeckel at smoeckel@foodbankofmanatee.org.
This story was originally published June 22, 2018 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Pantries pray the pain of a potential food shortage is temporary."