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Stretching Supplies

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By JO-ANN JOHNSTON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 8, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - The central supermarket to virtually all food pantries in churches and community buildings from Zephyrhills to Spring Hill needs help.

Like other food banks nationally, Suncoast Harvest Food Bank is seeing more people who need free groceries and household goods.

The slowdown in the housing market put more local families in financial distress, particularly in the past six months, said Suzanne Isaacs, operations manager at Suncoast.

"Construction workers are getting laid off or are working only half-days," she said.

Those workers add to the population of people who can't make ends meet for any number of reasons, including low wages, high gasoline prices or property taxes. Suncoast helps about 50,000 people a month, 38 percent of whom are children.

Most of those people actually get their groceries from pantries in their own communities. That's because Suncoast acts as a hub, collecting food from various sources, sorting and redistributing it among 160 smaller member pantries. Food banks have found it's the most efficient way to operate.

Not enough food's been coming into the pipeline to meet the recent increase in demand, however. Food banks throughout the state are getting less food from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to Hawley Botchford, director of development for the Florida Association of Food Banks. The government doesn't have as much to spend for bulk groceries because prices of fuel and food have risen. So, the shipments coming into food banks have gotten smaller.

That puts more pressure on local donors. Isaacs said Suncoast is looking for donations of fresh produce and cash. The agency can leverage its purchasing power to buy canned goods and nonperishables cheaper than consumers can. A cash gift therefore buys more food than an equivalent amount purchased at a supermarket and donated.

The warehouse and agency also needs more volunteer help, Isaacs said.

The economic pressures on food banks will continue past the holidays, Botchford predicted. He is hoping donors keep giving after Christmas.

The organization also needs a new executive director. The former director, Scott Davis, left about two months ago after being in the job for more than three years. Since then, Isaacs, a longtime employee, has been directing the food bank's operations.

Reporter Jo-Ann Johnston can be reached at (352) 521-3062 or jfjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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