SAVE THE DATE: STUFF THE BUS Presented by Mosaic
The annual Stuff The Bus event, which was started in 2009, was created through the kind hearts of the School District of Manatee County Transportation Staff. They wanted to give back to the community and knew of “Stuff the Bus” events in other cities and suggested placing one school bus in front of one Publix store in Manatee County. The leadership of Publix thought it was a great idea and requested a bus at every Publix store in Manatee County. Since 2009, nearly 1.1 million pounds of food has been donated through the Stuff The Bus food drive.
Since the first Stuff the Bus event thirteen years ago, this event has evolved to include many Community Partners, including: United Way Suncoast, Publix, Herald-Tribune, the School District of Manatee County, and of course, the Transportation Staff of the School District.
We are thrilled to have Mosaic as our presenting sponsor this year. All proceeds and donated food will benefit The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS. Please stop by your local Publix in Manatee County to support this event.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
9:00am-3:00pm
All Manatee County Publix Locations
Goal: Raise 150,000 pounds of food to feed Manatee County residents!
Click here for more information.
A SUMMER OF SUPPORTING
Summertime is coming to an end, but not without some notable things that happened at Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee. On July 18th, as part of their “Christmas in July” charity event, Truman’s Tap & Grill donated 10% of all food and non-alcoholic sales to the Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee Community Shoebox Drive. Meals on Wheels PLUS hopes to collect 1,000 wrapped & filled shoeboxes to deliver to seniors throughout the holidays. These boxes are often times the only holiday present seniors receive.
There were approximately 135,000 meals distributed through the Food4Families food distributions. The Food4Families program provided critical nutrition to Manatee County residents in need—a need that has increased with rising gas, food, and rent prices.
Another notable event was the reopening of the Friendship Dining Centers. The program re-started initially at the Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee 301 campus. Since then, the program has expanded to Presbyterian Villas. In addition to receiving a nutritious meal, some of the fun activities the clients enjoyed was a relaxing spa day and a simulated trip to Paris, France. It has been exciting to see the attendance steadily growing.
Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee also benefited for two days this summer from the Greensboro First United Methodist Church and Jackson United Methodist Church youth groups, who volunteered at Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee. They packed Food4Families food bags, cleaned Home-delivered Meals totes, cleaned transportation vans, glazed and packed bowls for our November Empty Bowls event, performed maintenance tasks at Daybreak Adult Day Center, and so much more.
Thanks to our sponsors, donors, and volunteers, this summer Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee has been able to support the community by providing nutrition to food-insecure families, as well as, offering caring, supportive services to local seniors. If you are interested in learning more about ways to support Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, click here!
CENTRAL CAFE SUPPORTING MEALS ON WHEELS PLUS OF MANATEE AUGUST 15TH-19TH
There are many reasons to dine out at Central Cafe, but now we have two more! August 15th-19th, Central Cafe will be hosting a peanut butter and cereal food drive to benefit The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee. Look for the yellow barrel to drop-off your non-perishable food donations.
Central Cafe will also be donating 10% of purchases made on Friday, August 19th to support our mission, so mark your calendars now to dine-in for a great cause! Central Cafe is located at 906 Manatee Avenue East in Bradenton, FL 34208.
MEALS ON WHEELS PLUS OF MANATEE VOTED BEST NON-PROFIT IN BRADENTON
We are so excited to share with you that we have been voted 2022 Bradenton’s Best Gold Winner for Best Non-Profit. We are grateful to be recognized for all that we do to feed Manatee County residents!
Throughout our history, millions of meals have been put to use to feed our community through our Home-delivered Meals program and our PLUS program, The Food Bank of Manatee. The vast impacts of rising prices, and previously COVID-19, have resulted in a surge of food-insecurity and rising needs in Manatee County. We are thankful for the donations of time, talent, and funding from our caring community that make our work possible!
We are proud to be recognized and are proud for all we do, with your support, to #FeedManatee! Thank you for this honor!
FINALIST FOR MANATEE CHAMBER NON-PROFIT OF THE YEAR
We are proud to be a finalist for the Manatee Chamber Non-Profit of the Year. We are honored to be recognized with the other non-profit organization nominees—Boys & Girls Clubs of Manatee County, Children’s Guardian Fund, Healthy Teens Coalition of Manatee County, Inc., Lost Pet Services, Inc., Selah Freedom, Service Club of Manatee County, The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, The Mark Wandall Foundation, and United Way Suncoast. This recognition would not be possible without the dedicated work of our employees, volunteers, and board members. With their continued commitment, we have been able to #FeedManatee.
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
North River Ranch, in support of The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, hosted a community-wide food drive that raised over 650 lbs. of food. In addition, a generous donation of $2,500 was made that will provide 2,500 meals and serve over 80 local families.
“We’re pleased to continue offering support for the great work of Meals on Wheels PLUS and our local neighbors in need,” said John A. Neal, president of Neal Land & Neighborhoods. “We’re thankful to our builder partners, residents, team, and all of those who contributed to this food drive and helped us give back.”
If you are interested in learning more about our current funding needs, there are opportunities for you to help, too! Click here to find out how!
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
Gettel Automotive employees volunteered at two of the Food4Families food distribution locations for the entire nine weeks of the program. What inspired the commitment? The Gettel Foundation began in 2020 as a Platinum Annual Sponsor. From there they hosted food drives and volunteered at The Food Bank of Manatee. But, in order to see the full circle of the impacts of their donations and efforts, they wanted to see the end result of their work. “We really wanted to see how our annual sponsorship funds are utilized from receiving the funds all the way to the direct impact in the local community,” says Lexi H., Gettel Automotive Marketing Manager. In addition, Gettel Toyota of Lakewood held a food drive at their Car Meet. On that day, they filled two food barrels and collected donations that directly helped The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee.
Interested in volunteering? You can become a volunteer today by registering here.
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
“It takes a village”… that phrase summarizes the efforts of First Watch Managers who recently assisted in our mission to #FeedManatee in late June.
First Watch Managers from around the country gathered for training and team building called F.A.R.M. (First Watch Academy for Restaurant Managers). As part of their event, the Academy organizers were looking for an opportunity to provide training while also giving back to the community so their managers could learn about helping the community. After taking a tour of The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, the managers watched a brief video about our mission and important work in Manatee County. The managers then packed #Food4Families food bags at The Food Bank of Manatee and were a great example of teamwork in action! They completed in—just 21 minutes—a project packing 500 Food4Families food bags that normally takes volunteers 2-3 days to pack! Yes, you read that correctly – just 21 minutes! The food that was packed has already been put to use in the community. Thank you First Watch for making such a huge impact!
If you are interested in learning more about ways to support Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, click here!
UNIQUE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE
As our services and number of clients continue to expand, we are more reliant on volunteers to help us with our mission. In addition to the food bank and meal-delivery opportunities, there are new shifts that will greatly help local seniors and families.
These include:
- Friendly visits to isolated, homebound seniors
- Office assistance with the Client Services staff (Level 2 Background Check required)
- Help cleaning The Food Bank of Manatee
- Answering phone calls at The Food Bank of Manatee
- Reception/Welcome Desk
- And much more!
Interested in volunteering? You can become a volunteer today by registering here.
WE NEED FOOD! PLEASE HOST A FOOD DRIVE!
The Food Bank of Manatee is an independent Food Bank and the only Food Bank based in Manatee County. That means we rely 100% on the support of our community to make sure the shelves are always stocked! With the rising costs we are all experiencing for housing, gas, and food, many families are turning to our network of food pantries for assistance. We need businesses, organizations, neighborhoods, faith groups and families to help feed food-insecure families. You can greatly impact our community by coordinating a Food Drive! Click here to register your Food Drive!
Have food to donate? You can drop off at any Manatee County Goodwill or Public Library location. Just look for the yellow barrel. You can also donate here at The Food Bank of Manatee (811 23rd Avenue East, Bradenton, FL 34208) weekdays between the hours of 9am-3pm. Help us #FeedManatee
