A little over 3,000,000 people live in the greater Tampa Bay region; roughly 700,000 residents experience hunger on a regular basis. This is an unacceptably high and unfortunately all too common statistic. The solutions to the long-term problem of hunger both globally and locally are complex. The solution to the immediate problem of hunger is often more straightforward – collect, package and distribute food donations and surpluses to people in need. To better understand the long-term problem of hunger in the region, the CEO Council of Tampa Bay participated in the short-term solution by organizing over 20 of their volunteers along with 60 others to organize, bag and box groceries for distribution of 11,665 meals to almost 3,000 families. “This does not solve the underlying problems of a lifetime of hunger but it does solve the immediate problem of hunger for a week.” According to Peter Dobler, CEO of Dobler Consulting “What we learned after spending the afternoon at Feeding Tampa Bay is that chronic hunger is more than just a lost paycheck, medical emergency or a housing crisis away. Once it begins, hunger can become a downward spinning cycle of poor health, lost hopes and missed opportunities.” The CEO (more…)
