A Record-Breaking Stuff The Bus Event

During this year’s Stuff the Bus food drive, nearly 143,000 pounds of food was collected to help feed local, food-insecure families—a record-breaking total! Special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, Mosaic, our Wheel Sponsor Sarasota Herald-Tribune | IHQ, as well as our Community Partners: Publix, United Way Suncoast, and the Manatee County School District. Of course, this would not be possible without all the donors who were so generous and, most especially, the dozens of volunteers who donated their time to help make this all possible.

Inflation and higher costs of living have caused food-insecurity in our community to skyrocket. The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, has been the leading, local source of nutrition in Manatee County since 1985. As the only food bank based in Manatee County, we are so grateful for the support of everyone who made this possible! As an independent food bank, we rely 100% on the support of the community to be able to meet the needs of Manatee County residents, with 100% of the proceeds and food collected staying right here in Manatee County.

Since 1985, The Food Bank of Manatee, a program of Meals on Wheels PLUS, has been the largest hunger-relief agency based in Manatee County. In 2021, The Food Bank of Manatee distributed over 3.1 million pounds of food to children and families in need through the 80+ partner agencies and food pantries who receive food directly from The Food Bank of Manatee. Additional programs such as Sack Summer Hunger, Emergency Crisis Food Boxes, Emergency Baby Baskets, and the Mobile Produce Pantry also have a tremendous impact on the accessibility of food for those in need in Manatee County.