TAMPA, Fla. — Every Sunday morning, it's a full house for breakfast at the Portico.
Christine Long is among the people seated at tables, waiting for their meal.
"It's very beautiful to have a hot breakfast in the morning on the weekends," she said.
But this breakfast spot is different from others. The waiters are volunteers. The patrons are mostly people experiencing homelessness, including Long.
Lizzy Blair, the Portico's missions and events coordinator, said the breakfast is all about giving an experience that most people don't realize is a privilege.
"We always say that we want our guests to walk in, and we want them to relax their shoulders. We want them to hold their heads up a little bit higher and have that feeling of, you know, they're not just waiting in a line with a million other people, you know, to be handed a tray of food," she explained.
"We very much appreciate all the resources in this town. Because for the homeless, really, I've lived in some other towns in Florida, and this one has a lot of resources, clothes, and food. And we're very blessed to be here. And they really help us out a lot with everything," Long said.
The Portico is a part of the Hyde Park United Methodist Church.
Inside the downtown building, breaking bread is huge for the people getting a meal and the ones handing it out, like Michele Wirth.
"I was going through a rough time, myself just coming out of COVID. And the way it affected my business and myself. So I literally walked away from this place a few times realizing that, like, the most impactful conversation I had that week was with somebody who came here to have a meal because they live on the streets," Wirth said.
That love and generosity are enough to make Lady Wanda cry.
"Because of the greatness of these people who are trying to make it so that they can come back and sit at the table. I remember I was at home cooking the same meal. I need to get back to that. It's gonna be a little while, but I'm gonna get back to that," she said.
As our homeless population unfortunately grows, so does the need for people in this community to do what they can to help.
You can volunteer for the Sunday morning breakfast here. Breakfast is every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. at 1001 N. Florida Avenue. The team also has other volunteer opportunities.
