Anyone who has been on Facebook in recent weeks has likely seen the pleas for help from Tampa Bay’s Metropolitan Ministries as Thanksgiving and Christmas draw closer. The charity expects to serve holiday dinners to some 37,000 families. They still need 10,000 more frozen turkeys and trimmings to go in the Box of Hope they hand out to each family.
A tough year for some
“We are definitely off to a slow start,” said Justine Burke, vice president of marketing for Metropolitan Ministries. “Things are a little bit slow coming in.” Put the blame on Hurricane Ian, Tropical Storm Nicole, the mid-term elections and the high price of groceries.
“Those were all very big distractions,” Burke said. “The message we were putting out was getting overshadowed by all of these huge events, as would be expected.”
Everyone in the Tampa Bay region is feeling the effects of higher rent and grocery prices, she said.
Metropolitan Ministries, in a typical year, serves about 20,000 families. During the height of the COVID pandemic, that number jumped up to 45,000. The charity budgeted this year for 32,000 but expects the actual number of families seeking help will be closer to 37,000.
“We understand with the high costs of everything, there will be people who will pull back on charitable giving, because they are trying to take care of their own families,” Burke said. “But we are still hopeful the community will come through.”
Helping make a Thanksgiving feast
The Boxes of Hope contain everything a family needs for a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas meal, from turkeys, hams or chickens to potatoes, rice, cranberry sauce, canned vegetables and even dessert mixes. The boxes are based on the size of the family. They also include a healthy box of cereal, peanut butter and soup.
“We like to say we need everything,” from actual food donations to cash donations that can be converted into food, Burke said. “We have an anonymous donor who is matching all monetary gifts through Thanksgiving, so those donations help twice as many people.”
Many people think they cannot do much, but all those small grassroots donations add up to a big help. “The grassroots efforts will make a difference this year,” Burke said. Think about BOGOS, she said. Instead of thinking Buy One, Get One Free, think Buy One, Give One.
Some folks who will pre-register for family meals are the same people who come year after year, because they are always struggling just to make ends meet and would not otherwise be able to afford a holiday meal.
Others are people who were once donors to Metropolitan Ministries who now find themselves on the pre-registration list.
“Most of them are at-risk of becoming homeless,” Burke said. “Just one bad situation could put them out. They are having a really hard time just paying for basic essentials. Then, there are circumstances that just happen.” Perhaps a family’s rent just jumped $400 a month, or their landlord sold their place, and they must leave and cannot find another place they can afford.
“There is a lot of anxiety and stress right now,” Burke said. “It is not really a time for celebration for most of these families. We want to be there for them all the time, including during the holidays. It can ease some of that stress so they can sit down with their families and have a nice meal. Isn’t that what Thanksgiving is about?”
Homelessness in Florida
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 15 of every 10,000 people in Florida are homeless, putting the state in a position of having the third-largest homeless population in the United States.
Homelessness results from social barriers and is systemic. Rising rents, domestic violence, unemployment, poverty, drug abuse and mental illness all play a role.
Over 14% of the state’s population lives in poverty, according to the Alliance.
Metropolitan Ministries does not require that a family prove they are living in poverty, but they are asked questions about their situation to determine if they are eligible for a helping hand, Burke said.
Families can pre-register in person or online. “They show an ID, answer a few questions, give their Social Security number, all to verify their need,” Burke said. “It is more of a one-on-one discussion. It usually has to do with them being low income and continuing to struggle.”
Donations can also be made in person or online by joining the Metro Help Force.