St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
13312 Cain Road ▪ Tampa, Florida 33625-4004
813-962-3089 ▪ Fax 813-963-5082 ▪ www.stmarkstampa.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Invitation to Cover

For Information, not for publication: For Information:
Karen Kennedy-Hall Monica Wilson, Pantry Director
352-445-3075 813-856-9477

Local Church Partners with Food Pantry to Help Fight Hunger in Tampa Bay

CITRUS PARK ─ St. Mark’s Episcopal Church will hold a Drive-Up Food Drive on Saturday, August 10 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the church, 13312 Cain Road, off Gunn Highway.

The Food Drive will benefit The Community Food Pantry in Carrollwood, which serves more than !,700 families, individuals and senior citizens from North Tampa and all over the Tampa Bay Region.

According to Pantry Director Monica Wilson, The Food Pantry, located at Village Presbyterians Church in Carrollwood, is the second largest food distribution in Hillsborough County, providing 30,000 to 35,000 pounds of food per week to clients. The Pantry is open from noon to 2 p.m. on Sundays and 9 to 11 a.m. on Wednesdays weekly. It takes from 40 to 50 volunteers each week to pack and distribute the food.

Wilson said there are no requirements to receive food and each client receives food once monthly. “We don’t ask what you make or what you do,” she said. “If you are hungry, we will provide you with food for you and your family.

“It’s not a hand out, it’s a hand up,” said Wilson of the food distribution. She said she has seen the number of people seeking food grow since 2020, and the highest is a 20 percent increase in the number of senior citizens seeking help.

St. Mark’s Food Drive is hosted by The St. Mark’s Chapter of the Order of the Daughters of the King, an international religious order whose members vow to daily prayer, service and evangelism.

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All Food Drive participants can line up and stay in their cars. St. Mark’s volunteers will guide them to where more volunteers will be stationed to receive their donations. Each donor, no matter how much or how little, will receive a 50 percent discount on all items in the St. Mark’s Thrift Store, located on the church property.

St. Mark’s Rector, The Rev. Robert C. Douglas, said The Community Food Pantry at Village Presbyterian Church is a wonderful mission to our community battling the reality of living with food scarcity.

“We, at St. Mark’s, are grateful for the opportunity to come alongside them in this effort to help feed the hungry.”
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