Guest Commentary: Thank you for supporting the FISH Christmas Basket Brigade and Food Pantry Holiday Meal Programs
By Karen Durand
Executive Director, Pine Island
Food Pantry, Inc.
Pine Island FISH and the Pine Island Food Pantry give a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone on the island for their amazing support for our fall holiday programs, which included the FISH Basket Brigade Christmas Program and the Pine Island Food Pantry Thanksgiving and Christmas meal programs. Many businesses, service organizations, churches and individual contributed to the success of these programs, providing 291 children with Christmas gifts and toys, and for helping to ensure 170 families had a Christmas meal to enjoy.
Due to the successful collaboration between the Food Pantry, FISH and PIE we were able to provide the following this holiday season to our island families in need:
n 143 families with a Thanksgiving meal, a 50+% increase over last year.
n 170 families with a Christmas meal, a 77% increase over last year.
n 291 children, aged 0-18 (45+% increase) in 118 families (55+% increase) received Christmas toys, gift cards and stocking stuffers gift bags.
The FISH Basket Brigade Christmas Gift Program was a huge success, primarily due to the generous donations from the Yucatan Bar and Grill, the Island Grill, the Bokeelia Art Gallery, CW Fudge, Captains Galley, Kiwanis, OLMM Catholic Church, Fishers of Men Lutheran Church, Pine Island United Methodist Church, American Legion, VFW, Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Station, Matlacha Hookers, the Matlacha “Quilts R Us” club and many other individual donors.
Each Basket Brigade family was offered a Christmas meal which was accepted by about 95% of our clients. Generous grants to the Pine Island Food Pantry from the Pine Island Elks Foundation and the Cape Royal Community Foundation, along with the PIE and First Horizon Bank Food Drives, the $10 meal bags purchased by Winn-Dixie customers, and many group and individual donations, paid for the turkeys, hams, pork roasts and chickens, as well as holiday nonperishable meal fixings for both holiday programs.
Karen Durand, executive director of the Food Pantry and chair of the FISH Basket Brigade program, continues to be astounded and so thankful by the generosity and outpouring of support from everyone to ensure all islanders have a very Merry Christmas. She said, “by working together our agencies were able to expand our reach and provide a much more coordinated and comprehensive service level to our clients. All of the volunteers felt so grateful to be part of these community programs. Seeing the smiles and gratitude on our client’s faces makes it all worthwhile. It proves once again, the island truly does take care of its own. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!”
The Pine Island Food Pantry is a 501c3 nonprofit, serving the Pine Island and the greater Matlacha area and is operated by an all-volunteer staff. The pantry is open on Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Life Center of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church, 12175 Stringfellow Road, Bokeelia. An ID to verify residency in our service area is required. New clients are welcome.
Pine Island FISH (Fellow Islanders Sending Help) is a 501c3 nonprofit and all-volunteer association of neighbors organized to help those living in the Matlacha and Pine Island Communities. Pine Island FISH offers the following services: Non-emergency transportation to medical facilities, grocery stores, pharmacy, bank, etc., to those with no access to transportation; mobility equipment lending: wheelchairs, walkers, etc., assistance with special needs: emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, medical costs, etc.; respite relief to non-paid, primary caregivers; In-touch: contact with home-bound individuals either by phone or home visits, and is the lead agency in the Pine Island “Basket Brigade” programs.
There is no charge for FISH services, however, equipment and monetary donations are welcome.
For more information about the organization, visit the website at www.pineislandfish.org.