INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. — Diane Daniel is a freelance journalist, but lately, when she’s not busy with her day job, she’s embarking on a new endeavor — an endeavor that requires an eye-catching uniform and a bit of humility.
On a warm but pleasant Wednesday afternoon, she picked a prime spot along Gulf Boulevard in Indian Rocks Beach and draped a vibrant sandwich board over her shoulders.
“Sometimes, I walk on the beach, which I feel really goofy,” she said with a smile as she danced and waved at the steady stream of traffic. “And I usually — I didn’t do it today because I just couldn’t — I wear this thing in my hair that has these like Rasta spikes — blue. It’s crazy. Just to get attention, you know.”
She’s trying to capture the attention of vacationers who are visiting the area beaches from out of town because she wants to solve a problem that many of them experience daily.
When tourists leave Indian Rocks Beach and fly home, they return with countless memories, but they often leave behind food items, beach toys, and books in their short-term rentals and hotel rooms.
Daniel, who sometimes rents out part of her home, knew that from experience.
“What I had found — started finding more and more — is that when I would come back after a few months, there would be like so much stuff left at my house,” she said. “Every day there is so much food that’s being thrown out because people come and go every day.”
So, Daniel is endeavoring to remedy that wasteful dilemma in Indian Rocks Beach.
Weeks ago, she launched an effort — dubbed Vacation Donations — to educate tourists and vacation rental owners on how they can simply donate unopened food items to a local pantry and beach toys and books to other visitors.
That information can now be found on Daniel’s all-encompassing website, VacationDonations.org.
“I’m making no money. I don’t sell ads,” she said. “It’s only to help.”
According to the site, departing tourists or snowbirds can donate food and toiletries to the Beach Community Food Pantry, which is located just a block behind Guppy’s restaurant on Gulf Blvd. at 1615 1st Street.
They can donate during the pantry's business hours on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Alternatively, they can drop off the items after-hours in the on-site donation bin, which is available outside the pantry 24-7.
“The need is absolutely out there, and to think about throwing out the amounts of food that people are throwing out when other people literally do not have enough to eat like there’s got to be a way to bring those things together,” Daniel said.
Daniel’s idea is already showing its proof of concept.
Recently, with her help, 12 families donated 35 bags of unused groceries to the pantry, and more donations might be dropped off soon.
Wednesday, as Daniel strolled toward a beach access off Gulf Boulevard, Monica Leffler noticed her sandwich board and stopped to inquire.
“I think it’s fantastic. I think it’s a great idea,” Leffler told her. “It reduces waste, but more importantly, it feeds hungry people.”
Leffler, who flies into town from Indianapolis, has vacationed at Indian Rocks Beach every year for 15 years.
When she arrives in town, she stocks up on groceries at Publix, where she said the "Buy One, Get One" deals usually leave her with plenty of unopened, leftover food at the end of her stay. Sometimes, that food ends up in the trash.
“It kills me, but yes,” she said. “We just don’t know what to do with it.”
Now, after speaking to Daniel, she knew there are ways to donate that food with little hassle, and she hopes Daniel’s concept will grow and catch on with other tourists and rental owners.
“There should be a push from owners, from management companies, to get on board with this,” Leffler said. “Absolutely.”
Daniel has prepared magnets that can be placed on the refrigerators inside vacation rentals. As her concept grows, she’s hoping for more collaboration with rental owners and the City of Indian Rocks Beach.
She can be contacted through her website.
