FBCPC running bi-weekly food pantry
First Baptist Church of Plant City, 3309 James L. Redman Parkway, is closed to the public but still finding ways to keep its community involvement strong.
The church has been operating as a “food pantry” providing pre-packaged groceries for free to anyone who stops by while supplies last. It’s made possible with much help from the Plant City community as well as local charity organizations.
“We’re partnering with Feeding Tampa Bay and the Florida Baptist Children’s Home, who collectively provided over 20 pallets of meat, produce and vegetables,” Missions and Connections Pastor Adam Cunningham said. “For the upcoming food drive, our church members donated probably close to $10,000 worth of food and more than that was given in cash donations to help supplement the food boxes. Our corporate donors, such as Grimes Produce, Star Distribution Systems, Publix and Patterson Companies, Florida Potato and Onion, have been very generous with ‘in-kind’ donations.”
Basically, it’s an extension of the church’s ongoing “I Love Our City” campaign that serves people all over the Plant City community, whether it’s dropping off care packages to South Florida Baptist Hospital staff, feeding first responders or giving gifts to truckers with Gordon Food Services and Star Distribution Centers to show appreciation.
In the church’s first food drive event, more than 300 families were able to get meal boxes before the church ran out of supplies and had to turn more than 300 additional cars away. This Wednesday, the church had nearly an entire wing full of food ready to go out.
“We had people in the food line that drove over an hour and a half away to receive food,” Cunningham said. “It was at this point that we realized how great the need really is in the community.”
Getting food at FBCPC is simple. You can arrive at the parking lot as early as 9 a.m. (food distribution starts at noon), drive up to the pick-up area and get your box. No documentation of any kind is required. If you wish, you can also cruise through the church’s drive-through prayer lanes in English and Spanish. Cunningham said the church is currently offering the food pantry service every other Wednesday “as long as there is a need and we are able to fulfill the need.”
Visit fbcpc.com for more information.
HCPS changes Grab and Go program again
One week after changing its Grab and Go pick-up availability, Hillsborough County Public Schools has made yet another tweak to the program.
Yesterday was the first day parents were required to present their children’s student ID numbers in order to receive food at both the Wednesday weekly pick-ups and Monday snack stops. If parents are picking up for children who are not school age or attend school outside of the district, the children’s names and birth dates must be provided. HCPS said the new measures are meant to help it track meals using “new technology.”
Visit sdhc.k12.fl.us for more information.
Graduation dates announced
Hillsborough County Public Schools also announced a set of tentative graduation ceremony dates on Tuesday.
The ceremonies will be held at the Florida State Fairgrounds Expo Hall as always, but everything will now take place between July 8 and 23. The following dates and times will apply for Plant City-area public high schools:
Simmons Career Center — 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 14
Durant High School — 4 p.m. Thursday, July 16
Plant City High School — 8 p.m. Friday, July 17
Strawberry Crest High School — 8 p.m. Saturday, July 18