Grants to All Faiths Food Bank support children and families

All Faiths Food Bank recently received $70,300 from four funders in support of its work to end hunger. Grants received and programs to which funding is designated include: MMDP Foundation Fund of the Miramar Charitable Foundation, $50,000 (BackPack program); WaWa Foundation, $10,000 (School & Family Pantry program); Fifth Third Bank, $5,300 (Campaign Against Summer Hunger), and Saint Boniface Episcopal Church, $5,000 (School & Family Pantry program).

Approximately 43% of Sarasota County students and 100% of DeSoto County students rely on free and reduced-cost meals at school. But when school is out, children lose access to this critical nutrition. To help fill the hunger gap, All Faiths' BackPack program provides snack bags for weekly distribution to students on weekends and during school breaks. All Faiths works with numerous partners to distribute BackPacks at local sites such as libraries, summer camps, early learning centers and other youth-serving organizations.

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Additionally, as students lose access to meals at school over the summer, All Faiths has – for 13 years – been there to fill the hunger gap thanks to funding from the Campaign Against Summer Hunger. Through a network of schools, libraries, early learning centers, summer camps and community organizations, the food bank provides children with healthy meals via mobile pantries, school-based food distributions, backpacks, and enhanced meal services in partnership with the Sarasota and DeSoto County school districts.

In total, through the above summer programs, All Faiths reached nearly 24,000 children.

All Faiths Food Bank's School & Family Pantry program provides healthy foods to families. All Faiths operates pantries that distribute fresh produce from local farms as well as dairy, meat and pantry staples to ensure children and their families have access to nutritious food throughout the year. The organization partners with the Sarasota and DeSoto county school districts to offer pantries in local schools and other child-focused organizations – eliminating transportation and scheduling barriers, and putting healthy food directly into the hands of parents and caregivers.

"As children have returned to school, many families have lost access to free and reduced meals due to changes to federal nutrition programs; there has been a significant decline in participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and, thus, those households have lost automatic qualification for free school meals," said All Faiths Food Bank President and CEO Nelle S. Miller. "Generous grants like these help us to expand our safety net and remove barriers to food access, ensuring more children can get the nutritious food they need to be healthy and to succeed in school."

To learn more about All Faiths Food Bank, visit allfaithsfoodbank.org or call 941-379-6333.

About All Faiths Food Bank
All Faiths Food Bank is the only food bank and largest hunger relief organization in Sarasota and DeSoto counties, providing millions of meals each year in collaboration with more than 300 agencies and programs throughout the community. All Faiths works not only to end hunger today, but also strives to end hunger – forever – by helping families and individuals gain long-term food security, enjoy better health outcomes, and achieve self-sufficiency. All Faiths is rated four stars by Charity Navigator and is a partner of the Feeding America and Feeding Florida networks. Visit allfaithsfoodbank.org.