TAMPA, Fla. — Feeding Tampa Bay puts food on the table every single day for families across our area. People can even shop for what they need to stock their shelves.
In the heart of The Market at Feeding Tampa Bay, fresh and nutritious food fills the room.
“Anyone can come to The Market if it’s their first time, then after that, we do ask for appointments,” said RJ Tapales, the Policy Systems and Environmental Change Specialist with Feeding Tampa Bay. “It’s all free of charge.”
Bins and coolers are stocked with fresh fruits, veggies, and more. Guests form a line and fill their carts one by one.
Feeding Tampa Bay is the largest food recycler in our 10-county region, but it has been purchasing food to help meet the need since the pandemic. The organization said its goal is to buy foods based on HER Guidelines.
HER Nutrition Guidelines - Feeding Tampa Bay by ABC Action News
“The HER Guidelines, or the Healthy Eating Research Guidelines, is a tool created to help food banks and food pantries easily label foods for people to understand the nutrition content of the food. It breaks it down into three categories: choose sometimes, choose often, and choose rarely,” said Tapales.
They continued, “When we’re trying to procure these food items, we’re looking for fruits and vegetables, items that can really help support an individual’s health.”
In addition to having access to healthy food choices, it is crucial to educate people on how to prepare healthy meals.
“Maybe wherever they’re from, it doesn’t grow there, or they just never tried it before,” said Casilda Torres.
Torres is a Nutrition Education Coordinator at Feeding Tampa Bay.
“The most rewarding experience that I had was a meat sauce that I made homemade one month. I did that for the first couple weeks that I was here, and then the next month, when they came back for their shopping, a woman came up to me and told me that she prepared that for her family at home and that they really enjoyed it,” said Torres.
Your dollar goes a long way.
Five meals will be placed on tables throughout the Tampa Bay Area with $1 donated through ABC Action News’ Food for Families initiative, in partnership with Feeding Tampa Bay.
“They know that when they’re leaving this place that they have a box or groceries or a bag of groceries that’s going to help and support their health,” said Tapales.
“We’re ready for our visitors.”
Spring break season is back across Tampa Bay, and businesses are relying on spring break now more than ever.
