TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — The Alianza Center is hosting emergency food workshops in Tampa Bay to help families prepare before hurricanes and other disasters that leave them without power, water or access to basic services.
The nonprofit’s Family Empowerment Emergency Disaster Food Project, known as FEED, teaches residents how to stock their pantries, preserve food and prepare meals when the power goes out.
For Denise Montañes, a Tarpon Springs resident, preparing for hurricane season is personal. She said Hurricane Maria left her home in Puerto Rico without basic necessities and no way to communicate.
“We were without power and water for a long time,” Montañes said.
Montañes said the experience taught her the importance of preparing before a storm arrives. “I know how important this is,” Montañes said. “We have to have certain things to ensure we are fed and we can feed our family too.”
Eliseo Santana, Regional Manager of Tampa Bay for the Alianza Center, he said the workshops have reached more than 200 people. Sessions are offered in English and Spanish.
“When a family has that security of having food in their pantry for emergency purposes, it eliminates a lot of that stress that they have,” Santana said.
The workshops teach participants how to vacuum seal food to extend its shelf life, calculate how much water their families will need and prepare meals without electricity. Families also receive information on how to use those skills at home.
Santana said participants will leave with a vacuum seal machine so they can continue preparing food and potentially help neighbors do the same.
By the end of the workshop, Santana said each family should have supplies for at least 30 emergency meals. He said he hopes participants share what they learn with neighbors and loved ones.
“Don’t wait until the last minute, be prepared,” Montañes said.
The next emergency food workshop is scheduled for Oct. 15 at the Lealman Neighborhood Family Center. It begins at 6 p.m.
