Suncoast Harvest Food Bank Celebrates 20 Years

From its small beginnings in a borrowed citrus packing plant to a 5-acre double warehouse facility, the Suncoast Harvest Food Bank has changed a lot through the years.

The organization celebrated its 20th anniversary recently. It was founded in 1991 by a small group of residents who wanted to address Pasco's growing hunger issue.

Clara Lawhead is the founder of the food bank. She started after she became aware of the frequency of hunger in Pasco County. 

“One in four Pasco residents went to bed hungry at night back in the early 1990s,” she said.

Lawhead knew something needed to be done to help people in her community, she said. She didn't stand alone in the mission either.

Lawhead was supported by such people as County Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, Congressman Mike Bilirakis, Betsy Crisp from the Pasco County Extension Office, Harry Wright from Hungry Harry’s Famous BBQ and Harold Warren, the owner of Warren Fruit Packing plant. Warren's warehouse on Land O' Lakes Boulevard served as Suncoast's first official home.

While the nonprofit initially relied on donations from Scouting groups, school food drives and grants, it is now affiliated with a much larger organization, Feeding America. Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, serving more than 37 million Americans each year.

Suncoast Harvest now carries more than 300,000 pounds of food in its inventory and serves Pasco, Hernando, Sumter and Citrus counties.

Lawhead’s job as nutritionist with the Pasco County Health Department is to address food and nutrition issues in the community. Overseeing a food bank shows her the face of Pasco’s hungry, she said. 

Times have changed since the food bank first began.

What she is seeing now are families who “fall through the cracks,” those new to the struggle, who are most vulnerable.

“I see the changing faces of food insecurity," she said. " I see those who are having to make very difficult decisions between medicine and food, between parents feeding themselves, or their children, between eating and paying the bills.” 

Lawhead says that from the time the food bank opened to today, the unemployment rate has risen from 4.2 percent to 13.9 percent. Half of the children in Pasco County schools rely on free or reduced lunches.  

“Sprinkle that with a dose of pride and I see many people with new barriers to overcome. Thank God for the food bank,”  she said.

The food bank serves as a central warehouse, or distribution center to local food pantries. More than 100 agencies pick up from the food bank to distribute to their neighborhood needy.

After 20 years in business, the Suncoast Harvest Food Bank has changed but still relies on the help of many volunteers. “Our foot soldiers,” Lawhead calls them.  Volunteers help unload and sort the food that comes in, pack boxes and prepare items for distribution to local food pantries. 

Volunteers who would like to help are encouraged to call 813-929-0200. The agency also welcomes financial donations to help it in its mission to feed the hungry. To find out more about making a donation, visit suncoastharvest.org.