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The St. Mark's conference of St. Vincent de Paul operates a food pantry on the 1st and 3rd and 5th Tuesday of each month, from 1pm to 4pm to help provide food to those in need in the North Tampa area. Clients can visit the pantry once a month and obtain pre-filled food bags that typically contain items such as:
- Peanut Butter & Jelly
- Canned Tuna or Chicken
- Canned Fruit & Vegetables
- Cereal
- Chunky Soups
- 1lb box of spaghetti
- Canned spaghetti sauce
- Macaroni & Cheese
- Rice/Instant Potatoes
- Canned Beans (black, red, pinto)
- Canned pasta (ravioli, spaghettio's, etc.)
- Toiletries
Most of our food is obtained via parish food drives, which are very successful thanks to the generosity of the St. Mark's parishioners. A portion of the cash donations received from the monthly envelope collection is used to purchase food items when we run low in between food drive collections.
Our conference also has forged relationships with local businesses to assist with providing food to our clients, for which we are very grateful. As an example, Publix on Cross Creek Blvd donates bakery items each day the pantry is open, which augments our food supply.
We are also very blessed to have a cooperative inter-ministry relationship with the Boy Scouts, who help organize some of our food drives, as well as the SMARTS group and the Knights of Columbus.