$2.7 Million Milestone Reached in Support of All Faiths Food Bank's Campaign Against Summer Hunger

The Board of Directors of Gulf Coast Community Foundation (Gulf Coast) has awarded All Faiths Food Bank a $30,000 grant from the Gould Family Trust Foundation to support the 2025 Campaign Against Summer Hunger. Since 2014, together with its donors, Gulf Coast has provided over $2.7 million in support to All Faiths Food Bank’s Campaign Against Summer Hunger.

"Gulf Coast’s pivotal partnership with All Faiths Food Bank and their Campaign Against Summer Hunger has transformed the way nutritious meals are provided to our region’s children in the summer months,” said Gulf Coast’s President | CEO Phillip Lanham. "With enhanced summer feeding programs, creating a collaborative distribution to reach children where they are, and steadfast donor support, the Campaign Against Summer Hunger shows the value of a long-term, effective collaboration between a community foundation and a non-profit organization.”

Gulf Coast and its donors, in partnership with All Faiths Food Bank, initiated its Campaign Against Summer Hunger in 2014 as a result of a Child Hunger Study. The study found that children who typically receive free breakfast and lunch at school cannot always access nutritious meals during the summer. Children who are food insecure are at risk of serious or chronic physical and mental health issues. Existing health problems are exacerbated, and they become more vulnerable to routine illness. Providing accessible healthy food helps children grow and thrive to become healthy and productive adults.

Gulf Coast has provided advocacy and strong leadership for the Campaign since its inception. In 2014, the first year of Campaign Against Summer Hunger, more than $1.1 million in support was raised resulting in the distribution of 766,253 pounds of food, serving 15,500 children. Ten years later, in the summer of 2024, 35,398 kids were reached by this program, showing a continued increased need for this community resource.

"This generous support from Gulf Coast Community Foundation is a lifeline for the thousands of children in our community who face hunger during the summer,” said All Faiths Food Bank President and CEO Nelle S. Miller. “With inflation driving up costs and families still recovering from the hurricanes, we are seeing even more of our neighbors who may have never needed this kind of help before. Thanks to this funding, more children will have the nutritious food they need, so they can grow, learn and thrive.”

All Faiths expects an increased need again this summer. Two million in support is needed for the 2025 Campaign Against Summer Hunger to provide food for 35,752 children in Sarasota and DeSoto counties. Community members can find many ways to support solutions to end hunger by visiting All Faiths Foodbank website, www.allfaithsfoodbank.org.