Celebrating Pine Islanders: Bonnie Potter
Pine Island Food Pantry president Bonnie Potter said something everyone should know about her is likely her passion for making sure people on the island are fed.
“Making sure people get nutritious food is very important to me — especially the little kids,” Potter said.
In speaking of her constant desire to provide basic sustenance, she shared the joy it brings her to let children choose their own produce, which, she said, is available at the pantry, an arm of the Harry Chapin Food Bank. In addition to running the Food Pantry on site at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, she said the now annual fundraiser is one of the many things for which she is most thankful, since they are currently able to feed just over 200 families a month. In fact, Potter said, she had to purchase a number dispenser, such as one might see at a delicatessen, to keep up with lines for food outside the pantry. Besides the giving nature of Pine Islanders, who donate both food and money continuously, this fundraiser has become a big annual hit.
“We do one fundraiser a year — Woodstock, where we have Deb and the Dynamics,” Potter said.
In 2004, just after Hurricane Charley, Potter said she and her husband Bill bought a house on Pine Island that they used and enjoyed a lot for weekend retreats. It took a few years but In 2014, she said, they built a house and made a permanent move to Pine Island. In the process of coming out on weekend getaways, they fell in love with the peace and tranquility of Pine Island.
“We noticed when we came out here on weekends that it was so refreshing. About 2 years after we started coming out here my husband and I said, this is where we want to settle,” Potter said.
Potter admits her community spirit is a big part of what she enjoys about being an islander, where she is included in many things. Her volunteer position as Food Pantry president gives her a birds-eye view of the community she loves, via the other Food Pantry volunteers.
“One thing I really want to stress is that the Food Pantry has wonderful volunteers. They are hard working, and dedicated — I’ll tell you that. We could not operate without them,” Potter said.
Potter said in some kind of chance meeting, where someone might be curious about where she lives, she would simply tell them Pine Island is Old Florida.
“I would also say it’s peaceful, quiet and full of nature,” Potter said.
In an effort to make a wish for Pine Island, Potter said she would like the island to remain rural.
“I would like us to remain Old Florida and not to become too developed — to keep the charm,” Potter said.
Potter wants everyone to know the Pine Island Food Pantry is open 9-11 a.m. on Monday and Thursday.
The pantry is at 12175 Stringfellow Road at Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Hall.
To reach PAULETTE LeBLANC / pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com, please email