TAMPA, Fla. — Every day we hear from you, our viewers, about how the cost of living continues to strain your family budgets.
It’s why we here at Tampa Bay 28 partner with Feeding Tampa Bay and Achieva Credit Union for our Pack the Pantries and more initiative. The goal is to bring food and supplies directly to schools where students are at risk of food insecurity.
As Tampa Bay 28 anchor Nadeen Yanes learned, Feeding Tampa Bay’s school pantries are proving successful in student learning.
At Feeding Tampa Bay, families shop with dignity for the food they want and not just what’s given to them.
“I like to the snacks here and the food,” said members of a family.
It’s the same concept now set up at 92 schools across five counties in Tampa Bay.
We here at Tampa Bay 28 have highlighted in stories before how Feeding Tampa Bay in meeting the need where the kids are, at school. And making sure student don’t stay hungry.
“1 in 4 kids in Tampa today do not know where their next meal is coming from. I think that should give all of us pause, right? We should all take a moment and say, is that OK? The next question is what we ought do about it,” said Thomas Mantz, the President and CEO of Feeding Tampa Bay.
The answer is simple: The Feeding Mind school pantries. They started as a test program in 8 Hillsborough County Schools back in 2018. Now they are in 30 Title 1 schools in the county, filling the gap after free breakfast and lunch by providing meals for dinner and weekends too.
“As the superintendent mentioned, they really focus on feeding during the day. We think about nights and weekends and summers, right? So, we're supplying groceries. Oftentimes teachers will access the food in the pantry and other folks that work at the school, which we think is critically important too,” said Mantz.
Hillsborough County Superintendent Van Ayers said it’s making a difference; the proof is in school grades.
“First time in our district's history that our transformation network, which basically our lower performing schools, every single one of those were graded an A, B, or C by the state of Florida,” said Superintendent Van Ayers.
Every school with one of these pantries is now ranked either an A, B, or C school.
“To have the results that we've had so far with how our students are achieving because their foundation has been set here, it's critical,” explained Van Ayers.
Not just feeding students but feeding minds too.
“The interesting thing in hindsight was we ended up improving attendance. We ended up creating a better relationship between the family and the school. We ended up improving grades. Behavior problems that were reported by principals went down. We just were trying to make sure that kids and families had food. The outcomes have been far beyond, I think, our hopes,” said Mantz.
All possible thanks to donations, corporate sponsors, and you, our Tampa Bay 28 viewers.
"So, when you all run this program, Pack the Pantries and more. Really allows us to let the community know, hey, there's a way you can help make our community better, and more importantly, there's a way that you can help make sure that a kid has educational success,” explained Mantz.
Success that is now proven.
Our Pack the Pantries and More initiative this year also includes collecting school supplies. You can donate right now by clicking here or you can donate non-perishable food and supplies at participating Achieva Credit Unions.
Any amount helps, and every dollar, every can, and every backpack makes a difference.
Share Your Story with Nadeen
As part of her commitment to help you navigate the state of insurance, Tampa Bay 28 Anchor Nadeen Yanes is here to listen to you. If there is an insurance problem you have run into, or feel others need to be aware of, we want to hear about it. Just fill out the form below.
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