Stick A Fork In It

For the past 16 years Ross Anderson has been raising the young men of Tampa Bay out of difficult circumstances and into leaders, thinkers, and achievers. His Men of Vision program has guided literally thousands of children deemed "problematic" by their schools to a place where they can actively choose what kind of successful future will suit them best. Tune in to learn how he has worked such incredible magic, and how the Men of Vision have been an invaluable resource to programs like our Trinity Cafe restaurants in North and Downtown Tampa.

Our partnerships spread far and wide, and need just as much support as we do here at FTB -- so follow our social pages @FeedingTampaBay to see the names and smiling faces of the community heroes we work with every week!

A truly great man in both character and physical stature, local wrestling celebrity Thaddeus Bullard joins us on the show to talk hometown philanthropy. Not only has he established a groundbreaking adult learning center at Sligh Middle School in Seminole Heights, but he's partnering with Feeding Tampa Bay so that our FRESHforce culinary trainees can utilize the brand new, high quality kitchen inside! Tune in to learn how he grew from a destitute child into a symbol of strength and compassion for future generations. And on WTFB we're joined by FRESHforce leader Mike Perkins, who revels in the glory of the new facility, and what it means to the hopeful candidates that join our jobs training program.

Check out the other huge names from around the Bay that we get to partner with! Follow our social media pages @FeedingTampaBay and visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org.

We did it, Tampa! The Bucs are going to the Superbowl, and we're taking the opportunity to share some behind-the-scenes info about all of the phenomenal work the NFL is doing to feed struggling families in our community. Meet one of our Development Team all-stars, Ashley, who helps form partnerships like the one we have with the Bucs to make our mission possible.

Learn more about our mission and our partnerships by visiting FeedingTampaBay.org, and following us on social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn @FeedingTampaBay!

Through a new partnership with our local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, we're helping to give our neighbors two of the most basic needs on Earth - food and shelter. Our friend Mike Sutton, CEO of Habitat Pinellas & West Pasco, joins us to explain how he and his team are helping families break the poverty cycle, and invest energy and pride into their brand new homes. Tune in to celebrate with us, and learn how you can help feed and house deserving parents and children in your area.

Follow us on social @feedingtampabay, and visit our website FeedingTampaBay.org, as well as our partner's website HabitatPWP.org!

On this final (for now) episode of "Humans of the Food Bank" we learn all about our annual tradition of naming one employee as Food Banker of the Year. We speak with the previous title-holder from 2019, as well as the CO-winners of the title for 2020. Then on WTFB, our president and CEO explains how this tradition came to be, and what it means to be honored with the title.

See the fruits of our staff's collective labor on our social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay, and by checking out our website www.FeedingTampaBay.org to find food or learn how you can help us feed the community! We know we're not alone in our passion for service, and every hand that adds some help brings us closer to our goal of a hunger-free Tampa Bay by 2025!

The crew returns to share the stories of more of our incredible fellow food bankers -- from frontline warriors to behind the scenes miracle makers, the humans of FTB are inspirational, funny and kind. Tune in to meet more of our good friends, and as a treat, the mastermind behind the culture of our workplace that binds us all together behind a common cause -- Jayci Peters!

Visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn about volunteer and career opportunities with our organization, and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to see the work we're doing in your community every single day!

A food banker can look like anyone, come from anywhere. But no matter the difference in our age, nationality, or job status, we are all connected by our intense drive to help our fellow human beings. In the first episode of this two-part series, we interview a handful of the incredible souls that make up our team - that share their talents with this mission on a daily basis to deliver TWO MILLION MEALS every single week to our community! Learn what we do, what our individual journeys are that bring us together to provide life-saving nourishment to strangers, and why we are driven to continue doing this work.

Visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn about volunteer and career opportunities with our organization, and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to see the work we're doing in your community every single day!

Fighting through poverty, cancer, and the loss of a dear friend, Colleen Chappell (co-founder of the ChappellRoberts Branding & Advertising Agency) has maintained her fiery spirit, and worked her way to the upper tiers of the marketing food chain in both locally and nationally. On today's episode she shares with us her journey from first college graduate in her family, to the dizzying heights of the corporate world, to a humbly powerful collection of creatives headquartered in Ybor City. And on WTFB, meet our Community Engagement Manager, Andrea Kitchen, who's self-defined role is to "bring some sexy" to all of our marketing materials and community events!

Be sure to follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to learn how you can get involved, and to hear about upcoming events Andrea is putting on for our partners, friends and families!

Feeding Tampa Bay is just one small part of a vast network of food banks feeding struggling American families. And we couldn't do it without the help of people like Robin Safley, Executive Director of Feeding Florida. On today's episode she compares her experiences in Iron Man triathlon competitions to the marathon that our country has experienced during the pandemic. But through it all, she maintains her trademark optimism:

"We're not trying to house people on Mars ... we're trying to connect an asset that exists, with a person who needs it, when they need it, in the right proportion that they need it.

Then stick around for WTFB with our own CEO, Thomas Mantz, as he explains the safety net our vast food bank network provides, how it works, and how it has been tested over the past 10 months.

For more information and insight, follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn!