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Feeding Tampa Bay and local food bank ask county to focus on ALICE households, boost pantry capacity
Summary
Feeding Tampa Bay and the Community Food Bank described local food needs and recovery work after hurricanes, urged expansion of healthy pantry networks and workforce training, and outlined SNAP outreach and nutrition education work in Citrus County.
Feeding Tampa Bay and the Community Food Bank briefed the county commission on April 22 about hunger in Citrus County and steps the organizations say they are taking to expand food access and build resilience after recent hurricanes.
Barbara Sprague, CEO of the Community Food Bank, said local partners distributed more than 4.6 million meals in the past year through a network of 48 pantries, shelters and partners and that the food bank provided logistics and storage support during back-to-back hurricanes.
Lorena (Gram) Hardwick, chief external affairs officer for Feeding Tampa Bay, said the groups focus on the ALICE population (asset-limited, income-constrained, employed) and noted county-wide poverty and childhood poverty rates. Hardwick said Feeding Tampa Bay helps clients enroll in SNAP — the food-stamp program — which it called the most efficient source of meals (she said SNAP delivers approximately nine meals for every one meal the network supplies). She described a nutrition-education program staffed by educators in each county and said the agency is expanding workforce-training programs, including warehouse logistics, CDL training and a culinary program located in an 11,000-square-foot kitchen.
Hardwick also described capacity-building efforts after the 2024 hurricane season, including grants and equipment replacements for affected partner agencies, and a small-business-style "regrow" loan program delivered with a partner financial institution.
Commissioners thanked the presenters and asked for sources on county poverty statistics; Hardwick said county-level figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau and some child-poverty data were taken from Florida Chamber reporting.
Why it matters: County-level food security and disaster response capacity are areas where county government, local nonprofits, and state and federal programs overlap. Presenters urged the county to consider investments that strengthen pantries, SNAP outreach, and workforce pipelines that could reduce long-term food insecurity.
Speakers: Barbara Sprague (Community Food Bank CEO) and Lorena Hardwick (Feeding Tampa Bay).
