Thank you, Feeding Tampa Bay

By 9 a.m., on April 26, a long line of cars snaked along the perimeter of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Migrant Mission as families throughout the community took advantage of the free Food Drop provided by Feeding Tampa Bay.

“This was the third of four Food Drops provided to local families by Feeding Tampa Bay,” says Tom Bullaro, co-director of Our Lady of Guadalupe Food Pantry, along with his wife Anita.

Our Lady's Pantry hosting another Food Drop — thanks to Feeding Tampa Bay.

“We provided 167 huge boxes of groceries to families the first hour and 236 boxes in all.”

According to Bullaro, anyone over 18 years of age in Hillsborough County can come for food during one of these distributions.  People need not be officially registered with Our Lady's Pantry.

Many families and friends come together for food, he adds.  If a couple comes for food, for example, they get two boxes.  If three or four adults are in the car, they get three or four boxes.  All each must do is sign for his or her box.

“These formal Food Drops cost Feeding Tampa Bay about $700 each.  Occasionally, individuals in our community send us a one-time-donation for this amount, too, so we can organize our own Food Drop,” Bullaro says.  “We did this a couple of times last year.

In addition to a variety of staples and frozen meats, Feeding Tampa Bay provided families with lots of freshly harvested tomatoes and carrots on this particular day.

The fourth Food Drop currently scheduled by Feeding Tampa Bay for Our Lady's Pantry will be held on Thursday, May 24, between 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.  Be sure to mark your calendars.

“We look forward to seeing you then,” says Bullaro.