TAMPA, Fla. — The employees and volunteers of Feeding Tampa Bay stay busy all months of the year, but during the month of September, they’re extra focused on their mission of ending hunger in Tampa Bay.
This month is Hunger Action Month, and Feeding Tampa Bay’s President and CEO, Thomas Mantz, hopes more will use the occasion to join the fight against hunger.
“Great causes require great effort — great support,” he said. “We’re really hopeful that Hunger Action Month — this year more than any other year — people stand up and say, ‘We shouldn’t have anybody in our community who’s hungry.’”
Last week, he gave ABC Action News a tour of his nonprofit’s headquarters and warehouse in Tampa. There, an assembly line of volunteers filled food boxes with vibrantly fresh bell peppers, potatoes, and carrots.
“One of the things we know is that everybody wants good, healthy, nutritious produce. These folks are making it happen,” said Mantz. “These carrots will end up on someone’s table tomorrow.”
Across Tampa Bay, Mantz said the need remains overwhelming as inflation and the rising cost of living strain household budgets.
The nonprofit estimates that a million in the 10-county area are food insecure. One in six adults and one in four children are hungry. Feeding Tampa Bay served about 95 million meals last year and projects it will serve 86 million this year.
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“You know, the need is just as bad as it was during the pandemic, which is hard for all of us to think about,” Mantz said. “The economy is difficult for folks. People never really recovered from the pandemic. Got a little bit better, but then we saw it got worse. We’re seeing the same amount of need today that we did then, which is really shocking to all of us.”
While the nonprofit’s warehouse would seem overwhelmed with food and volunteers to the untrained eye, Mantz said it desperately needs more.
“When you look at the shelves right now, are you at a good level?” ABC Action News asked Mantz.
“No,” he quickly answered. “When you think about all the food you see in this warehouse, the entirety of it rotates about every two weeks.”
If Feeding Tampa Bay could serve about 143 million meals a year, it would be even closer to its goal of ending hunger in Tampa Bay. To reach that goal, however, the nonprofit will need more volunteers, donations of food and money, and more advocates across Tampa Bay.
“We work as hard as we can to find as much food as we need to, but the reality is there are more people who need food than we have,” he said.
So, Mantz hopes Hunger Action Month will be the motivation for more to step up to help their neighbors.
“The human spirit’s pretty strong,” he said. “Everybody here has someone in their world who is hungry, and so what they’re doing today, and what Hunger Action Month is about, is saying, ‘Hey, everybody. Let’s collectively get together and help a neighbor.’”
Click here to learn more about the ways you can help Feeding Tampa Bay.
