Stick A Fork In It

Packing the Pantries with Nino DeLucia of Vigo & Alessi

No doubt you probably have some Vigo & Alessi food products in your own pantry right now. Well they're celebrating 75 years of being based in Tampa by teaming up with ABC Action News and Feeding Tampa Bay, to help Pack the Pantries of school children and their families in our community! Tune in to learn about Vigo's history from one of the family members that helps bring you some of your favorite Italian and Spanish food products, and also how you can help with our Pack the Pantries campaign this year. Young kiddos need food to grow and learn, and we're grateful to have partners like these standing beside us to make sure that happens!

 

Learn more about Feeding Tampa Bay, our partners, and how you can get involved in the fight against hunger by visiting FeedingTampaBay.org. Or by following us on your favorite social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay!

Crowning Epic Chefs with Shawn Routten of the Epicurean Hotel

2022 marks the SEVENTH year of our much-loved Epic Chef competition, where the top chefs in Tampa Bay face off in a contest of culinary creativity. Guests watch in person or online, enjoying delicious gourmet cuisine and crafted cocktails at the Epicurean Hotel, and on today's episode our guest is the hotel's General Manager, Shawn Routten! Tune in for a quick convo where we learn about the history of the event, the future of the hotel's expansion in SoHo, and some fun facts about Shawn himself. And be sure to tune in for the final night of Epic Chef -- Monday, August 1st starting at 6:45pm! Visit the Feeding Tampa Bay YouTube channel to watch LIVE, and subscribe for notifications about this and future events.

And as always, follow us on your other favorite social media @FeedingTampaBay, to learn how you can get involved with our mission of ending hunger in West Central Florida and beyond!

Giving Through Gourmet with Chef Daniel Graves of Trinity Cafe

Trinity Cafe promises to feed all who need food, rain or shine, pandemic or peace, 365 days a year. And the meals are so much more than just basic sustenance. That's thanks in large part to our Executive Chef, Daniel Graves, who has worked everywhere from smalltime local kitchens to massive casino chains over the past 32 years. On this episode Chef Daniel explains what drew him to Trinity Cafe after decades of managing premiere kitchens around the country, and how he and his committed team are able to turn food donations into gourmet meals on a daily basis for our neighbors in need.

Want to see some of his expertise in action? Check out our upcoming Epic Chef event, where guests can sample the amazing charcuterie boards he's assembled, and watch some of the best chefs in Tampa Bay face off over the course of three nights! And follow us on all social media @FeedingTampaBay for more updates.

Preparing for the New Daddy Experience with Jake Edling

Becoming a parent for the first time is scary, and the mountains of information we're expected to consume in preparation can be overwhelming. That's why Jake Edling, father of seven and acclaimed dad-expert, wrote "The New Daddy Experience" -- a succinct and grounded guide through the first few months of parenthood. Though it is primarily geared toward new fathers, new mothers can also benefit from the tips, tricks, and truths contained in the intentionally brief collection of pages. On this episode of Stick a Fork in It, Jake explains how he transitioned from life as a company man to life as a dedicated father and teacher, and how he learned to navigate the unpredictable path of parenthood. Find his brand new book for Kindle on Amazon!

And be sure to check out our recent Father's Day special episode, featuring some of the dads who work at our food bank. Whether you're having your first child or your seventh, there's so much that can be learned when we share our wisdoms with one another.

Follow us on all social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay for other info and insights to help support your family!

The Fathers of Feeding Tampa Bay

On this special Father's Day edition of Stick a Fork in It, we welcome a few of the food bank's new and long-time fathers to share stories of the work, play, and growth that goes into raising their little ones. Matt hosts our co-workers Pete, Khalil, and Lemuel, who have sons and daughters ranging from toddlers to teens and beyond, and a truckload of funny and meaningful stories that naturally come with the territory of parenthood. Tune in to learn how they manage their work-life balance, create loving connections with their family, and learn from their own childhood experiences to be the best fathers they can be. To all the dads out there we say, Happy Father's Day!

Follow us on all our social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay for more fun insights into our world and the amazing staff that helps us lift up our community every single day!

Feeding Hungry Pets with Melissa Pratt of PetSmart Charities

We all love our furry friends, and the last thing we want is to see them going hungry when we fall on hard times. That's why PetSmart Charities decided to team up with Feeding America, to make sure that pet owners didn't have to make difficult choices in trying to support themselves. Tune in to learn how PetSmart and Feeding Tampa Bay worked together to provide dog, cat, and people food to families during the pandemic, and how you can help support that mission going forward!

Follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to learn about the other partners that make our mission of ending hunger possible, and how you can join the movement, too.

The Well Builds Bikes that Move People Forward ft. Jon Dengler of WellBuilt Bikes

Recorded on location at the WellBuilt Bikes shop in the University Mall, we talk philanthropy and philosophy with grassroots community organizer, Jon Dengler. He shares how a single conversation with a homeless neighbor led him to build an organization that works tirelessly to support people struggling with poverty and independence. From opening his home to the unhoused, to starting community gardens, to providing free bikes to customers who complete a bit of community service -- Jon has collaborated with like minds to move mountains for people, without the backing of any major corporate or government funding. Tune in for an inspiring story that will help you to see poverty differently, and how much something small like a working bicycle can mean in helping someone out of a rut in their life.

Follow us on social media for more stories like this one @FeedingTampaBay!

Creating A Hub for Humanity with Mary Brown of Gulfside Elementary

What if your child could get a dental check-up without having to leave school? And if your elderly neighbor could get food for free when their money is tight? And if someone could help you navigate confusing government programs online? Well at Gulfside Elementary, all of these things are made possible through the Community Partnership program they are a part of -- and the services offered are available to students, families, and any other residents in the area who need help.

On this episode we're joined by the Gulfside Hub director, Mary Brown. And she explains not only how the program works, but how they've already seen amazing, measurable results in the few short years that it's been open. Tune in to learn how community partners have come together to support Gulfside and other schools all over Florida. And follow @FeedingTampaBay on any social platform to see how we're providing support too, so you can get involved!

Cereal for Summer Kicks Off with Kathryn Bursch of 10 Tampa Bay

It's become a tradition over the past 7 years for us to collect thousands of cereal boxes during the summer, to help feed children who normally depend on their schools for breakfast. And we have Kathryn Bursch and her team from local news station 10 Tampa Bay to thank for coming up with the idea and putting it into action. This year's collection is already underway, and Kathryn joins us on today's episode to tell you a bit about Cereal for Summer, and how you can get involved to help feed hungry children! Visit Cerealforsummer.org for more information.

And follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to see all the wonderful work being done by our partners like General Mills, who donated over 85 thousand boxes of cereal directly to Feeding Tampa Bay this year!

From Ukraine to You: Finding Peace Amidst Crisis (featuring Ian Adair) - Part 2

We return to our two-part episode featuring our friend Ian Adair from the Gracepoint Foundation, and our conversation about mental health in times of crisis. In part one we focused on the ways that world events, and their inescapable presence on social media, can have a negative impact on our mental health -- as well as ways to combat that impact. But in part two, Ian helps us understand the importance of mental health in the workplace. We spend so much of our lives working, and if that environment isn't one where we feel seen, heard, and understood, it's unlikely that we'll be happy there for very long.

 

If you missed it, click here to check out the previous episode!

And if you want to hear the first episode where Ian joined us on the show, click here.

Follow @FeedingTampaBay for future updates about the show, and ways you can get involved in the fight against hunger.