Good Neighbors - Fighting Hunger in Florida!
Donation protected
We are working hard to help our neighbors in need! Please help us gain access to a space so we can keep on giving!
In early 2020 my husband and I were absolutely shocked to see perfectly good food being thrown away by a local restaurant. I learned that it is common practice at most restaurants, groceries and convenience stores to toss away volumes of unsold food at the close of business and I wanted to do something about that. It took some time and perseverance, but I started formally connecting with a few restaurants to receive food donations! Helping our neighbors in need began!
Knowing there was even more food available, I wanted to help more people with food. I made it my personal mission to collect as much end of day food as possible from willing establishments. I partnered with more places for donations and found some friends to volunteer for collecting! We have continued to build and grow our team to get all of this food into the hands of those that can use it.
In just nine months we have blossomed from only a handful of connections to a team of over 50 volunteers that are visiting over 60 different businesses and fresh food donors to pickup food that would have otherwise been thrown away. We have in excess of 650 pickups a month primarily in Pinellas County and also stretching into Pasco and Hillsborough. Our partners include Einstein Bros. Bagels, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Wawa, Jimmy Johns, KFC, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn and Carrabba’s and others.
In addition to the perishable donations we also pickup large volumes of fresh produce, meats, eggs and dairy from food distribution locations. So far in the month of December we have received in and turned out 27,183 pounds of this type of fresh food to families that often didn’t eat enough because their family couldn’t afford these types of foods.
All of this food is shared with individuals, families, homeless giveaways, those cooking meals for elderly or underprivileged, senior housing communities, residents at extended stay hotels and anyone that can be helped by receiving food. We are currently helping dozens of food pantries that are not always receiving enough food for their giveaway needs.
Weekly access to provisions that we can pass on to our vulnerable neighbors are coming in fast but we are limited by what we can fit into our garage space. This is all happening within a very tight area consisting of a driveway for tables, some shelving and now 10 refrigerator and freezer units (yes, 10!) to hold perishables. We are in desperate need of a place to function from and to adequately house the food while we sort, box and prepare bags of food to share with others.
Long story short…. In order to meet the needs of the growing number of families we’re privileged to serve, we need to grow ourselves. It is time for us to obtain a space to call our own for this next phase as we transition into a full 501c3 nonprofit entity.
Thats why we’re hoping you’ll help us get into a rental space!
We are hoping to raise at least $4,750 to pay for the first, last, and security deposit on a space as well as cover the utility deposits and the first 3 months of rent. This will allow us additional time to fundraise to keep the space permanently and to help increase the impact of our outreach exponentially!! Please consider being a part of the next phase of this organization!
It is support from our community that will help make this happen. During what has been an extremely challenging year for many Americans, we have been here for our neighbors in need. Now more than ever before, we need our neighbors to be here for us. Please help us continue to serve our community. Together, we make a difference!
You can also be an enormous help by sharing a link to this page on your social media accounts. The more we spread the word, the more likely we are to reach our goal! Thank you!
We have also created a Fundraising Facebook page with lots of pictures to show you a little more about what we are doing to help the neighbors in our community!!
https://www.facebook.com/A-Space-for-Sharing-105373798127179/
In early 2020 my husband and I were absolutely shocked to see perfectly good food being thrown away by a local restaurant. I learned that it is common practice at most restaurants, groceries and convenience stores to toss away volumes of unsold food at the close of business and I wanted to do something about that. It took some time and perseverance, but I started formally connecting with a few restaurants to receive food donations! Helping our neighbors in need began!
Knowing there was even more food available, I wanted to help more people with food. I made it my personal mission to collect as much end of day food as possible from willing establishments. I partnered with more places for donations and found some friends to volunteer for collecting! We have continued to build and grow our team to get all of this food into the hands of those that can use it.
In just nine months we have blossomed from only a handful of connections to a team of over 50 volunteers that are visiting over 60 different businesses and fresh food donors to pickup food that would have otherwise been thrown away. We have in excess of 650 pickups a month primarily in Pinellas County and also stretching into Pasco and Hillsborough. Our partners include Einstein Bros. Bagels, Panera Bread, Starbucks, Wawa, Jimmy Johns, KFC, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn and Carrabba’s and others.
In addition to the perishable donations we also pickup large volumes of fresh produce, meats, eggs and dairy from food distribution locations. So far in the month of December we have received in and turned out 27,183 pounds of this type of fresh food to families that often didn’t eat enough because their family couldn’t afford these types of foods.
All of this food is shared with individuals, families, homeless giveaways, those cooking meals for elderly or underprivileged, senior housing communities, residents at extended stay hotels and anyone that can be helped by receiving food. We are currently helping dozens of food pantries that are not always receiving enough food for their giveaway needs.
Weekly access to provisions that we can pass on to our vulnerable neighbors are coming in fast but we are limited by what we can fit into our garage space. This is all happening within a very tight area consisting of a driveway for tables, some shelving and now 10 refrigerator and freezer units (yes, 10!) to hold perishables. We are in desperate need of a place to function from and to adequately house the food while we sort, box and prepare bags of food to share with others.
Long story short…. In order to meet the needs of the growing number of families we’re privileged to serve, we need to grow ourselves. It is time for us to obtain a space to call our own for this next phase as we transition into a full 501c3 nonprofit entity.
Thats why we’re hoping you’ll help us get into a rental space!
We are hoping to raise at least $4,750 to pay for the first, last, and security deposit on a space as well as cover the utility deposits and the first 3 months of rent. This will allow us additional time to fundraise to keep the space permanently and to help increase the impact of our outreach exponentially!! Please consider being a part of the next phase of this organization!
It is support from our community that will help make this happen. During what has been an extremely challenging year for many Americans, we have been here for our neighbors in need. Now more than ever before, we need our neighbors to be here for us. Please help us continue to serve our community. Together, we make a difference!
You can also be an enormous help by sharing a link to this page on your social media accounts. The more we spread the word, the more likely we are to reach our goal! Thank you!
We have also created a Fundraising Facebook page with lots of pictures to show you a little more about what we are doing to help the neighbors in our community!!
https://www.facebook.com/A-Space-for-Sharing-105373798127179/
Fundraising team: Neighbors Team (4)
Heather Lynn
Organizer
Clearwater, FL
Tim Brooke
Team member
Brooklyn Brooke
Team member
Mara Bonnewell
Team member