A local organization is stepping up to support more than 100 foster families each week, whose already tight budgets can get stretched to the breaking point.
TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. — Summer break brings a growing strain on the grocery budget of families across Tampa Bay.
In Florida, 1 in 4 children face food insecurity, unsure where their next meal will come from. That’s why 10 Tampa Bay News is continuing its more than decade-long partnership with Feeding Tampa Bay through the Cereal for Summer campaign, to help make sure no child goes hungry.
In Temple Terrace, a local organization is stepping up in a big way to support more than 100 foster families each week, whose already tight budgets can get stretched to the breaking point.
“Families were coming to us and saying, ‘Hey we’d love to say yes, but grocery prices keep rising. We’re having a hard time keeping food on the table,'” Janet Rinaldi, executive director of West Florida Foster Care Services, said.
She was a foster and adoptive mom herself and got right to work with volunteers to create a free market where other foster parents could come collect the items they need.
“We were like, okay, let’s meet this need. Let’s open a food pantry and supplement their groceries, so that they can continue to say ‘Yes,'” Rinaldi explained.
The effort started just two years ago, serving 15 families, and it has now grown to more than 150, thanks in part to a partnership with Feeding Tampa Bay’s Retail Rescue Program.
But summer adds even more pressure.
“One of the biggest pieces of misinformation about foster care is that it’s profitable. There is state support, which does help, but it’s a very limited amount,” explained Alicia McMillan whose a foster and adoptive mom, serving on the board for West Florida Foster Care Services.
She says during the summer, the strain is even greater.
“It goes quickly and it leaves a lot of cost. None of that is the additional food costs of children being home all the time, not in school and swimming and playing and eating you out of house and home,” she said.
For foster mom Yvetta Lambert, that reality is constant. She says her household can change overnight, sometimes doubling in size.
“Often, we get kids who come to our home with nothing. It could be three people one day and it could be seven the next,” she said.
Lambert says the market is a perfect place to stock up on snacks and necessities to help her manage the kid’s needs. At check out, there’s no bill, just support.
“The only thing you’re going to get on the way out is, ‘Do you need help to your car?’ and ‘Have a great week, we’ll see you next time,'” Rinaldi said.