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Food Pantry's Dinner-Dance Is Saturday

Tribune photo by D’ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

In between their duties as food pantry volunteers, from left, Mary Ann Vega, Rosalie Cassella, Shirley Ress and Carolyn Thomas have been busy planning the 25th annual Nativity Friendship Club dinner-dance fundraiser.

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

dlwhite@tampatrib.com

Published: January 21, 2009

BRANDON - The number of people in need has swollen so much that Nativity Food Pantry volunteers must distribute lottery numbers to residents waiting in line each Thursday afternoon to receive help.

At one time, volunteer Erika Novella could identify food pantry recipients by their threadbare clothing and the beat-up pickup trucks they drove.

Today, she said, recipients come in wearing business suits, carrying designer handbags and pushing pricey infant strollers.

It's not that the food pantry has reduced the guidelines for who is eligible for enough free groceries to last three months. Residents still must meet income criteria.

But now, more and more residents who previously didn't think twice about loading their grocery cart with extras at the supermarket are being forced to choose between dinner and paying the electric bill.

"There's a greater need than ever," food pantry volunteer Tess Falkenbach said as fellow volunteers prepared bags of staples for the 169 families registered to receive groceries at the food pantry on a recent Thursday. The volunteers always pack an extra 20 or so bags for "the walk-ins," the people who aren't registered but are desperately in need.

"Nobody ever walks out of here hungry," she said.

Residents who need a helping hand have been coming to the food pantry since 1983. That's when a Catholic nun, Sister Constance Arsenault, started the pantry as an outreach of the church's Friendship Club, a social group for parishioners age 50 and older.

"Normally, after the holidays, we're seeing under 100 families," said volunteer Carolyn Thomas. "But this year it hasn't tapered off. We're seeing a lot of people come through here who used to donate food. Now they're coming here to get food."

The nonprofit pantry is dependent entirely upon donations from the community. However, as generous as restaurants and grocery stores may be, there is never quite enough, Thomas said.

That's why the Friendship Club hosts its annual dinner-dance.

This year will be the 25th annual Nativity dinner-dance. It is scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday in the church social hall, 705 E. Brandon Blvd., Brandon. The $15 tickets include dinner prepared by Notable Edibles catering, wine, beer and other beverages, strawberry shortcake, door prizes and dancing to the live band, True Identity.

"Last year, True Identity kept everybody on the dance floor all night," said Thomas, chairwoman of the event.

Notable Edibles is a group of gourmet cooks who sing with the Nativity Chorale. Led by Britt Hardy, they began catering to raise funds for the chorus to travel to Rome and have been in high demand ever since.

The funds raised at the dinner-dance help pay for extras not donated by the public or local businesses, such as baby food. Volunteers last week had to make an emergency run to buy baby food after discovering that 23 babies needed food that day.

"Nobody ever thinks to donate baby food," Thomas said. "We try to give every family 10 jars each."

One resident who declined to give her name said she was grateful for every jar.

A stay-at-home mom with two children ages 5 months and 7 years and a husband who works full time, she certainly didn't think of herself as "needy." But, like many of her middle class friends, she said the family has been hard-hit by the recession.

"In order to make our mortgage, we have to go without food. We're just spending more than we're bringing in," she said. "A friend of mine told me about this place, and it really helps."

IF YOU GO

Tickets for the dinner-dance are available at the social hall after Mass and at Ave Maria Catholic Gifts at 222 Bryan Road, Brandon. For information, contact Thomas at (813) 685-7262 or Martha Ann Vega at (813) 653-0417.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524.

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