2025 Annual Report - Feeding Tampa Bay

FY25 Annual Report

A Message From Leadership

As we looked to the future and the diverse needs of our community, we developed a theory of change that led us to broaden our scope. The demands of the times call for a bolder approach, one we're proud to have taken. Simply, we believe that ending hunger and driving economic stability requires a shift from solely providing food to holistic, neighbor-centered support.

Co-located services offered with other community partners on-site is smarter, more effective, and key to long-term success. Healthcare services, financial support, legal aid, and housing assistance address the multi-faceted challenges our neighbors face and set the stage for a future of stability.

As you review our annual recap, you'll see the very real ways in which this new approach turns a short-term intervention into a long-term solution. As we like to say, come in for a meal, walk out with a future — all because we believe it's possible.

Thomas Mantz

president + ceo

Keri Higgins-Bigelow

board chair

Redefining What It Means To Feed Our Region

We're building people-focused solutions to see flourishing communities, today and for generations to come.

In 2024/2025 Feeding Tampa Bay provided products and services that valued over $445 million, while donors of food, time, and funds collectively contributed over $260 million in support.

100 million meals provided at $4.40 per meal

11,551 services provided at $115 per service

Growing Possibilities

A retired neighbor, Linda, with her arm of the shopping cart, smiling brightly.

by feeding stability.

Retiring seemed peaceful after a long career working in several different industries—but then Linda was met with the stress that living on social security brings. Linda quickly wondered how she would pay rent and other bills, buy medicine, and purchase food and other essentials on her limited fixed income. Luckily, she was referred to our on-site Market where she can grocery shop for all of her monthly food needs. After several years shopping in the Market, Linda joined the S'Well program dedicated to helping seniors build stability through health, nutrition, technological training, and camaraderie.

A woman graduate from Feeding Tampa Bay's FreshForce CDL truck driving track smiling with her arms crossed proudly.

by feeding capability.

Christine learned about FreshForce while hosting an event at Feeding Tampa Bay. Wanting to pursue a different career path with more consistency and upward mobility, she applied to the FreshForce CDL truck driving track. Once admitted to the program, Christine was impressed by the curriculum—gaining confidence in test preparation and hands-on driving experience while working to obtain her licence. Now, Christine works as a CDL driver for Feeding Tampa Bay and has the skills, autonomy, career path, and impact she has dreamed of!

by feeding health.

Following years of active duty and stints as a first responder, Juan turned to the Bay Pines VA for support with his mental and physical health. There, he was referred to our Groceries on the Go (GOTG) program, a service that provides low-cost produce and healthy shelf-stable groceries. Juan gained access to some of his favorite vegetables like squash, tomato, and cucumber, as well as lifestyle and nutritional tips to improve his health. What Juan didn't expect was that the program would also fuel his mind and mental health—consistently seeing the friendly faces of the GOTG staff helped him build relationships and regain a sense of belonging.

Growing the Ways We Measure Impact

the neighborhood

11,551 services were provided through The Neighborhood, including internal and external referrals, direct services, and connections to on-site partners.

34,139 visits made to Community Place, including the Bistro, Market, Neighborhood, and Learning Zone.

feeding minds

81 schools in our service area have on-site food pantries. Together they distributed over 2.5M meals to 76,451 households.

freshforce

34 graduates completed the 10-week program, and 75% of these graduates were employed 90 days post-graduation.

Shared Impact

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CORPORATE PARTNERS

More than 140 companies invested $10,000 or more through our Corporate Partnerships Program this year, providing mission-critical funding that fuels our work across the region. Their philanthropic commitment goes beyond traditional corporate engagement, helping us expand services, deepen impact, and meet the growing needs of our community.

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SERVICE PARTNERS

Critical community partners provide services directly from our facility, paving the way for access through services, events, and classes.

Bay Area Legal Services, BayCare, Cove Behavioral Health, Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Empath Health, Family Healthcare Foundation, Grow Financial Credit Union, Hillsborough Tax Collector's Office, Ivy Enrichment Foundation, Lighthouse Ministries, Metropolitan Ministries, Multicultural Alliance for Hispanic Development, Preserve Vision, SAGES, Selah Freedom, Suncoast Credit Union, Tampa General Hospital, and TECO.

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SUPPORTING ENTITIES

Many businesses and organizations contributed to our work this year through volunteer engagement, food and in-kind donations, and on-site room and event space rentals. Their collective support expanded our reach, strengthened our programs, and demonstrated the impact of working together to ensure every neighbor has the resources they need.

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VOLUNTEERS

161,908 hours of service, totaling $5.6M of economic value.

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FORKLIFTERS

Through generous monthly gifts, ForkLifters drive our mission forward, creating healthy futures for neighbors.

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COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Our community partners, food pantries, schools, and community resource centers, work alongside us to ensure neighbors have access to nourishing meals year-round.

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WISH MEMBERS

Women Inspired to Solve Hunger

Influential female leaders committed to supporting hunger relief programs.

together, we make a difference

Click to see our donors*

*consisting of donors at $10k and above

2025 Government Shutdown Response

While congress worked for a resolution on government funding, employees were furloughed, federal paychecks held, and food relief benefits paused. In the 43 days of government shutdown we:

Distributed 200,000+ more meals per week (on top of our regular weekly average of 1.9 million meals).

Connected more than 4,200 neighbors to food and services through our helpline and on-site support.

Stood up 25 mass distributions, providing more than 10,800 households with emergency groceries.

as of 11/21/2025