Volunteer Spirit Merits Grocery Discount

TAMPA - A few days every month, Charles Graham drives a forklift through a warehouse, unloading trucks filled with gargantuan packages of meat, vegetables and fruit. Days later, he helps tuck that food into hundreds of cars and pickups.

Graham, 80, has been volunteering for 17 years for the SHARE Florida Food Network, a program that rewards residents for their volunteerism by selling them groceries at a steep discount. On Tuesday, a group of about 15 volunteers met to help package food for SHARE's monthly weekend distribution.

The network buys meat, vegetables and fruit directly from growers, manufacturers and producers, much like a typical grocery store. Because SHARE relies solely on volunteers to repackage and deliver the goods, prices are about 50 percent cheaper.

SHARE director Tim Caske said the basic $18 food package includes the amount of meat, vegetables and fruit usually bought for almost $40 at a grocery store. Eligibility is simple: Participants must volunteer at least two hours a month.

"Everyone wants to know 'What's the catch?'" Caske said. "The only catch is to just volunteer. Give back to the community; make it a better place."

Members of SHARE can choose their own volunteer projects, anything from helping a neighbor to packaging food at the agency's warehouse.

SHARE ships up to $250,000 worth of food to about 7,000 families statewide, Caske said. Scott Taylor, spokesman for SHARE, said the program is especially important now that produce and meat prices are skyrocketing.

A typical food package might include about 3 pounds of chicken breasts, 1 pound of ground turkey, 8 ounces of sausage links, about 2 pounds of chicken thighs, 14 ounces of imitation crab, 16 ounces of soup, 3 pounds of potatoes, 1 pound of carrots, celery and lettuce, 2 pounds of onions, 3 pounds of apples and two grapefruit.

Volunteers get the packaging done before Saturday's pickup, when more volunteers from the six surrounding counties arrive to load vehicles and drive back to their host sites, where the food is distributed.

Volunteers order food at the site once a month. They detail how much food they want, their contact information and how many people live in their home. Volunteer work is left up to participants.

Once a month, the volunteers go to the host site to pick up the food they ordered.

Caske said there are two main benefits to SHARE: developing relationships with people while volunteering in the community, and saving hundreds on groceries.

That's why Graham has volunteered for so long.

"The operation breaks down barriers between people of all walks of life to bring them together for the same cause."