South County Food Pantry, Inc.

We are a once a month Food Pantry centrally located to the area we serve (Venice, Laurel, Nokomis, and Osprey) on the Island of Venice, just off Business 41 (Tamiami Trail South). Started in 1986, the Food Pantry has provided assistance to a growing number of families. In 2011 we served almost 14,500 individuals. This was about 5,330 family units. We typically serve an average of 445 families a month and due to the current economic situation the number of new families is rising. The pantry is able to provide each family with a generous amount of food , enough for 3 to 4 days. At Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, families are given a gift certificate (amount is determined by the size of the family) which can be used at any area grocery store to help defray the cost of their holiday meal. The Food Pantry is blessed by the generosity of many area churches, mobile home parks, schools, service clubs, businesses, and individuals who faithfully support the unfortunate in our community. Food donations are passed directly to our clients, and monetary donations are used to purchase supplemental food products at local grocery stores and All Faiths Food Bank. Over 95% of monetary donations are used directly to benefit the needy.