Food pantry in New Port Richey brings the pantry to the people
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - Mary Maya says when her check ran out at the end of each month, she’d be without food for one to two weeks.
"It was very hard," she said. "I would have to pick and choose what I was going to eat, and sometimes I would have to make my food stretch. So, sometimes I would be eating peanut butter sandwiches or crackers and juice."
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Then, she moved to the Landings of St. Andrew complex in New Port Richey where Grace Sepulveda started the first of five food pantries in the Tampa Bay Area 13 years ago.
"When I moved here, I saw the need," Sepulveda said. "What was happening is people were getting their pension, and it wasn't lasting until the end of the month," Sepulveda said.
Grace’s Food Pantry operates out of communities’ clubhouses instead of people having to travel to the food pantry.
"It gives us the opportunity to reach more people, and there are a lot of people right now who really do need [it]," Sepulveda said.
Residents are paired with shoppers - volunteers who also live at the properties - who help them pick out what they want.
Grace runs the pantries with her son, Edward Sepulveda. He said he wasn’t surprised when she told him her idea because helping people is just who she is.
"We were never wealthy, but we always found a way to be able to make some extra food or be able to help somebody the best we can," he said.
They said they’ve grown exponentially just in the past month.
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"It has been progressing so fast because the need is so extreme. It’s funny because you can be living in your home and not realize how desperately in need for food your neighbor can be," he said.
"With rents rising and food costs rising, and jobs don't pay as much as they probably should in some areas … it's a huge need that needs to be filled," Lorissa Kinder, Grace’s Food Pantry’s secretary, said.
Edward Sepulveda said they have communities calling them asking to open pantries.
"We look to see where the income rate is, and we also talk to management or community to see what type of an organization it is that they live in. If it's a civic association, HOA, they give us information in regards to what the income average is and how people are, you know, if they're living near the poverty level or under the poverty level. We want to help out the ones that actually need the food. So, we do a lot of research on it before we settle in."
They rely on donations from their sponsors, like local restaurants and grocery stores, and purchase everything else themselves.
"I am just so overjoyed, very grateful. I thank God every day because, without God, I could not do this. He's the force behind this whole thing," Grace said.
For residents like Maya, who’s also a volunteer, it’s life-changing.
"It helped me to supplement what I needed to eat, and it was great because it wasn't junk food. It's vegetables, fruits, cereal, bread, you know, just different things that you can choose from, and what I've seen is it's very nice because you come and see someone that lives here, and it's more friendly," Maya said.
They also offer free services like consultations with insurance agents when the pantries are open.
The pantries are usually open twice a week, and the days depend on the location. Right now, they serve close to 2,000 people a month. They’re opening another location in March that will serve another 500 to 600 people.