TAMPA – The Bay Chapel Food Pantry, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting hunger and food insecurity, relies on volunteers to ensure no local goes without a meal.
Located in front of the Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church, the food drive has been open for over 10 years. The drive does not require documentation for those in need of food and is held every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Beth Spongberg and her husband have worked as volunteers for over 9 years. On Saturday during the food drive, Spongberg said the pantry has created long lasting personal relationships for her.
“It’s really amazing,” Spongberg said. “We know probably over half of the people that come through here, they’ve been coming as long as we’ve been doing it, which has been for nine years.”
Originally held in the back of Christian Brothers, an automotive place, people would pick up food around the back of the property. The number of people coming by for food grew drastically, and the pandemic hit shortly after. The drive then started prepackaging boxes for those in need before moving across the street due to a new owner and lack of space.
“They needed the space for themselves which was understandable,” Spongberg said. “But we always say, ‘sometimes God moves you out to move you up,’ and this allows us to feed anywhere between 350 to 400 families a week.”
Sign located in front of the food pantry.
Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church allows the drive to keep their trailers on their property. The drive is one of Tampa Bay’s sponsored food pantries. Volunteers collect and deliver donations from grocery stores three times a week, including produce.
Michelle Schielka, who helped start up the pantry with her husband Lee, the director of Bay Chapel Food Pantry said the organization was a “blessing” that continues to give back to the community.
“We serve anyone hungry and in need, no questions asked,” Schielka said. “Our volunteers do a tremendous job of helping out and I have been lucky to be a witness.”
The pantry usually gets around 40 to 50 volunteers a week and stays running all summer. Spongberg said during summer is when they usually need the most help.
Cedrese Jones, a USF Health Sciences major joined the pantry as a volunteer requirement, but it became more to her.
“This was not my first time volunteering at a food pantry,” Jones said. “I had volunteered at one other food pantry at my church back home. I really like to help people.”
Volunteers work to distribute freshly delivered produce.
The pantry buys certain dry goods from Feeding Tampa Bay, but most of the stocked food is from donations from local Publix’s and Walmart. In January of this year, the Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation gave a $10,000 grant to the Bay Chapel Food Pantry.
Spongberg said if the pantry starts to run low, they don’t worry because donations and people always come through.
“We call ourselves the Five Loaves and Two Fishes Pantry, because we always have enough,” Spongberg said. “It’s been funny, because during the times we have run really low, a couple people always come by and drop off donations to get us through.”