Recent grants support All Faiths Food Bank

All Faiths Food Bank recently received $42,731 from six funders in support of its work to end hunger. Grants received and programs to which funding is designated include: Community Foundation of Sarasota County, $20,000, and Cook Family Foundation, $8,000, BackPack Program; Nutrien, $5,000 and the Brandt Foundation, $1,000, Mobile Pantry Program; Saint Boniface Episcopal Church, $4,000, School Pantry Program; and Feeding America/CVS, $4,731, general operations.

More than 50% 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 – the organization’s first child hunger-focused initiative, launched more than 16 years ago – provides snack bags for weekly distribution to students for weekends and during school breaks. During the 2024-2025 school year, approximately 17,643 students received backpacks each week at 43 schools and 27 youth-serving organizations across the region.

The Mobile Pantry program helps to strengthen food security, providing thousands of neighbors in our community with reliable, nutritious meals. Last year, the food bank held or supplied food for 725 food distributions each month, providing more than 20 million meals to over 80,000 neighbors. Additionally, a twice-monthly Veterans Pantry is offered at Church of the Palms in Sarasota, helping hundreds of veterans each month.

All Faiths’ School Pantry Program operates 28 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. In 2024, the School Pantry program reached more than 8,300 neighbors and distributed over 1.2 million pounds of food — including more than 78,000 pounds of produce — equating to more than 1 million meals.

“Thanks to the support of these funders and the power of community partnerships, children are receiving nourishing foods through the BackPack and School Pantry programs — giving them a better chance to thrive, both in and out of the classroom,” said All Faiths Food Bank’s President and CEO, Nelle S. Miller. “Together, we’re also making it possible to bring hundreds of mobile pantries to neighborhoods each month. Powered by these recent grants, we will continue to lower the barriers to access to nutritious food for our neighbors — including children, seniors and veterans — who are experiencing hunger.”

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.