Members of the Plant City Elks Lodge presented UFBPC executive director Mary Heysek with a check on Tuesday morning.
They say when one door closes, another one opens.
Just ask the members of Plant City’s Elks Lodge. The Elks have helped Plant City-area students in elementary through high school pay off their lunch debts since 2017 with help from the National Elks Gratitude Grant, as those lunch debts can delay students from getting their reports cards or, worse, getting their diplomas in some cases. This year was shaping up to be just like those before it: the group had cash in hand and knew exactly where to distribute it.
Then, COVID-19 happened.
Schools shut down and it suddenly didn’t matter that some kids were in debt from the meals they needed: everyone started eating for free with the Grab and Go program, which has changed several times in a month but is still going strong. With no certainty whatsoever about what would become of the rest of the school year, those debts took a backseat for the greater good of keeping kids fed in a pandemic.
Elks officer Judy Wise said the schools decided against taking that money right now and sorting out who no longer owes what, so that left the group with a bunch of cash they wanted to go somewhere in the community to make a difference.
As the door for school lunch debts closed, the United Food Bank of Plant City’s door — now outfitted with a bank teller-style window — opened.
The Elks are no strangers to helping the food bank, so that was an easy call for them to make. They rounded up $4,000 in the grant money and also asked their members and vendors to chip in a little extra here and there, and together they came up with $5,479 to give to the food bank. Wise, UFBPC executive director Mary Heysek, Elks director Kenny Goodwien and Elks grants officer Shelley Carroll linked up outside the facility Tuesday morning for a small presentation ceremony.
It was great timing for the food bank, which has already dipped into its summer and fall budgets to meet a massive uptick in demand for its services.
“The Elks have supported the food bank for many years in several capacities,” Heysek said. “Donating food, volunteering and dollars. This donation cannot come at a better time with our current community needs doubling.”
It’s just one of many examples of how Plant Citians have stepped up lately to help the food bank help others at a time where panic buying has made it extremely difficult for the UFB to get its hands on necessities.
If you wish to help the food bank through monetary or food donations, or if you wish to volunteer, call 813-764-0625 or email Gayle Tindle at gtindle@ufbpc.org.
Face mask packs are now for sale at the United Food Bank of Plant City, thanks to a bulk donation last week.
The UFB’s layered masks are light, shaped for the contours of your face and have ear loops thin enough to comfortably fit underneath a pair of glasses or sunglasses. You can get them in packs of three for $24 per pack with 100 percent of proceeds going to the food bank. You can order them for pick-up the next day.
All you have to do is email ufbpcmarket@gmail.com with how many packs you’d like. You’ll get an invoice and can either pay by check or credit card at the food bank when you go to pick them up.
