7/21/21

The Village Elders met this week and voted to begin dissolving the Food Pantry program, It Takes a Village. The August 5th/7th route deliveries will be our final run.

Since May 2020, the Atheist Community of Polk County, Red Tent Initiative, Rose Dynasty Foundation, Healthy Start Coalition of Hardee, Highlands & Polk Counties and others – driven by YOU – our dedicated volunteers, have served hundreds of families experiencing food insecurity throughout Polk County.

It’s not a decision we made lightly. Food insecurity was a major problem here before the pandemic, and it will continue to be a problem long after, especially for the most marginalized minority communities. A mission of this magnitude requires a lot of people putting in a lot of time. We learned A TON about operating a food pantry, being the only one known to deliver directly to recipients, and working as a coalition. With proper funding to pay staff to manage it, a novel program like this could be implemented anywhere. And perhaps in the future we’ll take another swing.

In the meantime, we want to thank those of you who drove delivery routes (sometimes 3 or 4 routes, sometimes every week!), unloaded trucks and sorted food… you made a huge difference in the lives of so many of your neighbors and I am proud of you and all that we accomplished.

To our recipients, we are deeply sorry we are unable to continue the program. Please make sure to reach out if you need a list of other food pantries near you or other information. This program happened because we believe that there is a moral imperative to care for each other without expectations or strings attached. And we are honored to have been able to help care for you as long as we were.