2014 — A year in review.  You make a difference!

2014 was a great year for Our Lady's Pantry, says Tom Bullaro, co-director of the Pantry along with his wife Anita.

“So many of you have gone out of your way for us, time and time again, and we thank you so much.  With your help we provided just under 9,000 big boxes of groceries to the 1,100 families registered in Our Lady's Pantry over the past 12 months. ”

Our Saturday morning crowd taking a break after packing boxes.

According to the Bullaros, countless individuals and groups come forward regularly to donate food and cash to stock Pantry shelves with nutritious food for families.  The primary supporters of this effort, however, have been the Project Hunger collections at Prince of Peace Catholic Church and Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Migrant Mission.  We send a special thanks to Father Kovanis and Deacon Ron for allowing us to take up this collection each month.

Specifically, our contributions totaled more than $60,000 over the past 12 months.  These monies have enabled us to purchase a stunning 286,114 pounds of food (143 tons)!  We buy most of our food from Feeding America Tampa Bay for $.18 a pound.  The cost of this food and related expenses totaled $60,996.64.

The number of households coming for food varies weekly, but reached a peak of 231 some weeks this fall.  Multiplied week after week, we are providing some dependable relief against hunger for large numbers of children and adults.

“Your continuous generosity makes a big difference in lessening the anxiety of our neighbors, who don't have enough to eat,” says Bullaro.  “We are so grateful for your assistance.”