American Red Cross gift will help All Faiths Food Bank’s disaster recovery efforts
SARASOTA COUNTY (WFLA) — All Faiths Food Bank is gearing up for the start of hurricane season. Just last week, everyone at the nonprofit went through training to prepare for the next bad storm.
Back in 2022, All Faiths served nearly 378,000 meals to residents in need throughout Sarasota, Desoto and Charlotte counties.
One thing they found as a result of that disaster response is that they had a need for more freezer and cooler capacity. Today, a gift from the American Red Cross helped meet that need through its Community Adaptation Program. The program operates in areas that “face both a high risk for extreme weather and high levels of social vulnerability,” according to its website.
There was a celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony as All Faiths received two new refrigerated containers as well as machinery to help them move food within its warehouse more efficiently. Each container gifted by ARC will hold around 60,000 pounds of fresh food and has a back up generator supply incase of power loss.
Sarasota County prepares for mosquito season after last year’s malaria outbreak
“By providing them with more equipment, more freezers, storage, and machinery that can help them expand their capacity, they will be able to serve more, much faster, efficiently, and be able to contribute to the overall standing up of our community,” said Glama Carter with the American Red Cross.
“Without partnerships like the Red Cross and without the confidence they instill in us ad making donations like this, it wouldn’t be possible for us to do what we do, ” said Chief Supply Chain Officer Bill Haley.
The extra gear will allow the nonprofit to do even more good in times of crisis through the added capacity.
“Having more space is one huge part of it. Making sure that we have the resources in-house ahead of hurricane season and maintain that inventory level throughout the season is also critical. That way, they are always ready and as soon as the storm passes, we are already ready to go,” said Sr. Director of Operations Ryan Beaman. “You can never be 100% ready, but doing everything you can to make sure you are as ready as you possibly can be. This is a huge part of having the resources available for us to be able to deploy and react to a disaster.”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
