Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Hannon Oliviero.
Hi Shannon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Trinity Cafe has served Tampa Bay with dignity and respect for 21 years serving over 2 million meals! We are a free, full-service restaurant available for those in need of a healthy, hot meal. Our chef and his team prepare fresh, nutritious dishes for our guests who are served daily by a small army of volunteers, over 200,000 to date!
In 2019 we merged with Feeding Tampa Bay and since have since been able to expand our to-go meal program and added a third location as part of our Feeding Pinellas Empowerment Center.
As a program of Feeding Tampa Bay, we are able to serve a meal for today at our restaurants, introduce guests to meal opportunities for tomorrow, and even programs that help individuals provide themselves with meals for a lifetime.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We know the pandemic elevated the need throughout our region and even worldwide. With proper planning and partnerships, our team overall was able to rise to the challenge. Our chef and his team partnered with local restaurants enabling us to offer meals to those who were unable to access food by delivering frozen meals to seniors and those who were homebound. As the pandemic began to come to a close, over 50,000 meals were delivered. Feeding Tampa Bay distributed 95 million meals overall.
Today, with inflation impacting us all one million of our neighbors are now experiencing food insecurity. 1 in 7 adults and 1 in 4 children. Many are families, individuals, and seniors who never imagined themselves seeking help or finding themselves in a food line.
As we imagine a hunger-free Tampa Bay, our challenge is capacity. Our team currently is turning away food that we don’t have room for. In January of 2023, we will be announcing our plans to expand which will help place more meals on tables and offer healthcare support, and connections to many additional services including SNAP, housing, and job training. We will also be adding a fourth Trinity Cafe concept.
We’ve been impressed with Feeding Tampa Bay, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Feeding Tampa Bay, part of the national Feeding America network, focuses on providing food to nearly 1 million food-insecure families in the 10-county area of West Central Florida.
We are the driving force behind hunger relief in our region.
Our mission is to change lives one meal at a time by leading our community in the fight against hunger.
Our vision is a hunger-free Tampa Bay region by 2025.
There are three ways you can stand beside us to help lift our overall community toward a life of health and capability.
Give. $1 = 5 meals with 98% of every dollar supporting our mission. Volunteer. Over 50,000 volunteers are needed annually to support our mission. Use your voice. Share our mission and stories through conversation or social platforms. Be an advocate for those who are struggling to place meals on their table.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Lack of food is a symptom of overall struggle.
At Feeding Tampa Bay we will provide food today and tomorrow through our cafes, programs, and distribution network of 450+ agency partners but we want to help be the solution to help lift those struggling.
Our goal is to transform our community by lifting those in our care to a life of health and capability by providing connections to additional services, healthcare, and training for those who struggle with employment.
Contact Info:
- Website: feedingtampabay.org
- Instagram: instagram.com/feedingtampabay
- Facebook: facebook.com/feedingtampabay
- Twitter: twitter.com/feedingtampabay
- Youtube: YouTube.com/feedingtampabay
- Other: tiktok.com/feedingtampabayofficial
Image Credits
Feeding Tampa Bay
