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Future Unfolds For Changing Thrift Store

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By GEOFF FOX, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - One worker asked Suzy Arb where a donated stroller should be placed, while another had paperwork that needed attention.

Meanwhile, Clara's Closet, the thrift store at Suncoast Harvest Food Bank on Ehren Cutoff, was being remodeled.
Arb has been executive director at the agency only since mid-December, but she is already used to the bustling activity. On a recent weekend, she said, the agency served 200 families.

But for the moment, she was focused on the thrift store.

"Before long, it will be all spruced up again," she said. "We have had an excellent response from the community. Since I've been here, not a day has gone by that people aren't dropping stuff off."

The agency, which has five full-time employees, three part-time workers and a fluctuating number of volunteers, serves needy families in Pasco, Hernando, Citrus and Sumter counties.

Besides remodeling the thrift store, which should be finished in about two weeks, Arb's daily duties include writing grants, adhering to a budget and "answering to the board."

Her first goals are to enhance the agency's marketing efforts by getting a telephone listing for Clara's Closet, establishing an Internet presence and staging grand re-opening events in the coming months.

According to Suzanne Isaacs, who runs the agency's food bank, Arb arrived during one of the agency's busiest periods. In the past year, she said, Suncoast Harvest has served an average of about 50,000 people a month; it previously served about 35,000 per month.

"It's a sign of the times," Isaacs said, citing the rising cost of living.

Every month, the food bank also handles 50,000 to 75,000 pounds of U.S. Department of Agriculture products, much of which is trucked to agencies in other counties.

A Pennsylvania native, Arb has lived in Florida about 26 years. She and husband Steve have lived in Land O' Lakes for seven years. The couple have two children: Chelsea, 17, a senior at Land O' Lakes High School, and Tanner, 22, who recently graduated from Florida State University.

She was previously director of the American Diabetes Association in Tampa.

"She's a welcome addition," Isaacs said. "Everybody loves her. The director's position here is very hands-on and involved in all aspects."

Although the agency gets plenty of donations, Arb and Isaacs said it can always use more volunteers. One day, Arb said her niece and two nephews, ages 11 to 15, were helping at the thrift store when a woman came in who said she was down to two eggs and desperately needed food.
Arb dug around in the food bank and came back with a box of food that she gave to the woman, who was so happy and relieved that she hugged Arb and wept.

"The fulfillment I get from helping others is what makes me feel purposeful," she said. "I could never be this satisfied working a 9 to 5 job in corporate America."

With a good-natured laugh, she added, "It's definitely not about the money."

For information about volunteering, call (813) 929-0200.

VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES

For information about volun teering at Suncoast Harvest Food Bank, call (813) 929-0200.

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 948-4217 or gfox@tampatrib.com.

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