UMCM Suncoast

We are a social benefit agency working to alleviate the symptoms and address the causes of poverty through service, education and advocacy in Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Manatee, Sarasota and Pinellas counties. One of our Supplemental Food Service programs, Pack-A-Sack 4 Kids, addresses the chronic hunger and/or food insecurity experienced by Tampa Bay children every day.

In the Tampa Bay area, one in four children is food insecure. What does it mean when a child is food insecure? What is "food insecure" anyway?

To be "food insecure" is to have limited or uncertain access to a nutritionally adequate diet. Meals are skipped, food portions reduced and/or there's uncertainty of where the next meal will come from and if it will be sufficient enough to feed all members of the household. Not having an adequate diet doesn't just affect kids physically, it affects them emotionally and mentally and can cause behavioral problems at school ultimately leading to lower educational success rates.

Pack-A-Sack 4 Kids partners with local school boards to identify elementary school age children in our pubic schools that exhibit behaviors that may indicate chronic hunger or food insecurity. Individual "sacks" are filled with healthy food items and distributed on Fridays to ensure the child has food to eat over the weekend.

Your donation during Give Day Tampa Bay helps us keep programs like Pack-A-Sack going and available for children in our community.