Thomas Mantz didn't set out to run a food bank. He wanted to be a teacher. A coach. Maybe even a talk show host. Now he leads Feeding Tampa Bay - and what he's seeing should make all of us stop and think.
In this episode of Stick a Fork in It, Thomas pulls back the curtain on what hunger really looks like in Tampa Bay, and why it's nothing like most of us imagine. We talk about the Causeway Center, the merger with Trinity Cafe that changed everything, why they just opened a medical clinic on campus, and the philosophy that drives everything Feeding Tampa Bay does.
In this episode: 00:00 - Why Thomas wanted to be a teacher - and what changed
03:00 - What Feeding Tampa Bay actually does (it’s bigger than you think) 06:30 - The teacher who needs support, just as much as her students
07:30 - Military families on food lines: the question that shouldn’t have an answer
09:00 Building the Causeway Center: “Be bolder and do it right now”
13:00 - The Trinity Cafe merger: 51% dignity, 49% food
15:30 - Why they designed a campus where everyone belongs
18:30 - The new medical clinic and what holistic care really means
22:00 - Hurricane season, Resilience, and why the problem is moving faster than they can