Publix Charities awards Our Lady's Pantry $10,000!
Our Lady of Guadalupe Food Pantry is pleased to announce a generous gift of $10,000 from Publix Charities. Tom Bullaro, co-director of the Pantry, says this donation went directly to pay off the balance due on our refrigerated truck.
According to Feeding Tampa Bay, Florida is fourth in the nation for family hunger with one in six residents of Hillsborough County food insecure. Of these, an estimated 19 percent are children, 24 percent are adults, and 57 percent are seniors. The Publix Charitable Foundation has long been dedicated to giving the gift of nourishment and hope to our communities. Recent donations by Publix throughout the South have directly facilitated the transportation and distribution of even more wholesome, perishable foods to children and families.
Our Lady's Pantry is among the beneficiaries of Publix generosity, says Bullaro. This gift of $10,000 went directly towards the purchase of our used refrigerated truck to help us do God's request of feeding the needy.
Along with previous donations from countless individuals, $5,000 from The Couch Foundation, and $9,600 from 100 Women Who Care, Our Lady's Pantry now has our long-awaited refrigerated truck in which to deliver more fresh foods to the tables of our neighbors.
“We are so grateful to Kelly Williams-Puccio, executive director of Publix Supermarket Charities, for all her help,” says Bullaro. “We received our check recently from Brian West, director of Publix Media and Community Relations!
“Our thanks, also, to Nancy and Dan Somma, and Terri Hardman, who worked behind the scenes in securing these three big grants. Thanks to the tireless efforts of so many individuals working together, we have been able to join Publix in their mission of beating hunger in America.”