Stick A Fork In It

Can you believe there are already over 150 episodes of this show!? Give all we've seen and done in that time, and all the people we've met and talked to, we wanted to mark the occasion by revisiting the goal of the show, and the people working to accomplish it. Shannon Oliviero is the PR Officer of Feeding Tampa Bay, and Ev Malcolm is the Content Manager -- and together they've been telling the st...

Yuengling may have opened its famous Tampa brewery back in 1999, but did you know they are the oldest family owned brewery in the US dating back to 1829? Today, the sixth generation of four sisters are running the operation. Tune in to learn more from Debbie Yuengling as she shares their 'all family' culture and what it's like to grow into such a fun and inventive industry. Don't miss out on the c...

There are currently only two "community" schools in Hillsborough County, so as the Resource Teacher at Brandon High, Lauren Leto had to blaze a few trails to support her students. And one of the first things she found when she began talking to families in the community was that their most basic needs weren't being met. Before the conversation could start about raising the school's grade or overall...

In Phil Lee's own words, Florida Blue is a "health solutions company" -- not just an insurance provider. On today's episode he explains what it means to focus on preventive healthcare, rather than trying to address issues once they've already started, and how having access to healthy food is such a key component in that endeavor. In the past four years alone, Florida Blue has provided over 180 mil...

For YEARS our caring friends over at ABC Action News have been helping us raise awareness about the struggles, needs, successes and humanity of our neighbors around Tampa Bay. And on today's episode we have two of the crew's grade-A journalists, Sean Daly and Jillian Ramos, joining us to talk about our upcoming Pack the Pantries campaign, as well as the effect that media has in creating a better c...

If you've watched Feeding Tampa Bay's Epic Chef competition in the past, you know just how exciting it is to see the best culinary artists in the region face off head-to-head! This year is no different, except that Rachel Bennett, Executive Chef of The Stovall House, will be joining our CEO Thomas Mantz in hosting the live event. Tune in to today's episode to learn about Chef Bennett's history wit...

You may be thinking that with our new community center on Causeway Blvd. Feeding Tampa Bay is all set! But the work is just beginning, friends. Now that we have more capacity to feed our neighbors, we have even more room for help from kind souls like you! Our colleagues Derek Ultican and Jason Prado join us on today's episode to explain how you can help us press on toward ending hunger in Tampa Ba...

As our mission has grown, the way it's represented has to grow, too. And we're so thankful to have had the experts at ChappellRoberts by our side for over 10 years, to help with that. We have their Senior Director of Brand Strategy, Katy Parsons, on the show today, to share what it's been like engaging with our community in creative and meaningful ways for so many years. Tune in to see how marketi...

Many of us know how scary it is to leave high school and try to find your place in the big, wide world. So the mission of Workforce Development Partners is to connect those graduating students with real people who can offer them real opportunities, and support them in their transition to adulthood. Yvonne Fry joins us on today's episode to talk about where and why this mission began, and how it's...

Our annual cereal collection event is here! Every year our partners at 10 Tampa Bay help us collect TONS of cereal so that kids in our community can have breakfast every day, even when they're on summer break from school. Kathryn Bursch has been helping us coordinate this massive effort for a long time, and joins us today to share what she's seen of the community pitching in to help one another. A...

There's no singular path to accomplishing our goals in life, and on today's episode our president & CEO, Thomas Mantz, shares the secret sauce behind his successes at Feeding Tampa Bay. The main ingredient? Help from others who care. Not only does everyone need a hand-up to get where they want to go in life, but we all need to help each other if we hope to live in a community that's both stabl...

If you've spent enough time around Feeding Tampa Bay then you already know that food IS medicine! And the TampaWell project, created by our partners at Tampa General Hospital, is using that medicine to improve the health of our neighbors through a bright and sunny community garden. On today's episode we talk to Jenise Carr, the Food Pharmacy & Community Garden Manager at TampaWell, and learn a...

Awareness of and involvement with the community around you is the most important part of advocacy work, according to Lorena Hardwick, our own Chief External Affairs Officer. It can be easy to get swept up in the frustrations we face in our lives, without knowing what we can do about them or how we can do it. But that's Lorena's specialty -- she stays on top of the important local and political dev...

Former Senator Janet Cruz still remembers how her grandparents' clothes smelled of cigars when they returned home from Ybor City's historic cigar factories. She recalls a childhood where neighbors shared cultural nuances and best of all delicious food! Growing up in Tampa helped create the passion that drives her to ensure that children and families throughout Tampa Bay have the resources they nee...

Joining us again on today's episode is mental health expert, Natasha Pierre, to help us honor Women's History Month by talking about how women can make the present a historic time. We touch on the importance of mentoring, how role-modeling starts at home, and how to have compassion for the people who might misunderstand you out in the world. This episode is chock full of other powerful insights as...

Twenty years cycling between home-life struggles and military combat zones has taught Dr. Damon everything he needs to know about the importance of personal and interpersonal healing. After battling with PTSD and suicidal thoughts himself, his life purpose was revealed to him in the form of improving life for the men and women who sacrificed to keep their loved ones safe. On today's episode he tak...

There is no better way to support our struggling neighbors than understanding what their struggles consist of, and how they can be helped. That is why Kareem Spratling is the perfect chairman for the board of Feeding Tampa Bay, and why we want to introduce you to him on today's episode! In his youth, Kareem lived the experience of food insecurity firsthand. And as his life journey led him to posit...

Dr. Sharma has returned ( previous episode link here ) and is helping us kick off the New Year with a better understanding of Integrative Medicine! She shares her individualized approach to each patient’s over all well-being and a few incredible success stories that reflect positive, healthy outcomes that have changed lives. We discuss the lifelong affects of "food trauma" and how it’s up to us to...

Did you know that Feeding Tampa Bay has programs for volunteers of all ages? On today's episode we talk about the Student Ambassador program, and meet two of the local college students using their knowledge and their voices to help fight food insecurity! Meet Gina and Adam, and learn how college students in Tampa Bay can get involved with their community, helping neighbors and making friends along...

Your favorite yearly episode is here! Meet the inspirational human beings who act as the heart, the arms, the legs, and the soul of our mighty little organization. We talk passion and purpose with Roanna, Jack, Omar, Robert, and Jocelyn on today's episode! It truly takes a village to do the work we do, and we hope you'll join us in building it! Learn more about our team and our programs on social...

Your favorite yearly episode is here! Meet the inspirational human beings who act as the heart, the arms, the legs, and the soul of our mighty little organization. We talk passion and purpose with Sarah, Chris, Lorena, and Scott on today's episode, and have FIVE MORE team members for you to meet next time! It truly takes a village to do the work we do, and we hope you'll join us in building it! Le...

The ChappellRoberts marketing agency is the creative force behind so many of Feeding Tampa Bay's bright, inspiring campaigns each year. And on today's episode, we'd like to introduce you to their Chief Creative Officer, Matt Boswell. We talk about what it's like trying to keep a creative spirit alive in a world that doesn't always know how to nurture that kind of person, and how ChappellRoberts dr...

Tampa Bay Bucs Linebacker Markees Watts says he is blessed to have always had support along his journey to the NFL. And he knows how much of a difference it makes to have people believe in you. That's why he was so intent on finding ways to support the community of Feeding Tampa Bay when he arrived here from Lancaster, SC. Listen to learn how Markees went from playing 8th grade football to being o...

We're all aware that life can be difficult for an active duty soldier, but extreme difficulties can also pile up in different ways for retired veterans. Many of them struggle to reintegrate into normal, everyday life, and may not have enough money to cover food and housing costs. And that's not even mentioning the challenges they face from physical or mental trauma they've endured. On today's epis...

One surprising fact that has become clear in all our decades of food banking is this: food alone can't end hunger. That's why our colleagues like Matt and Kaity work so tirelessly to develop and improve programs that provide people with access to more than a just a meal. Tune in to learn how our work provides neighbors in need with healthcare, shelter, and financial self-sufficiency -- and how abs...