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Whatever Can You Give Will Be Helpful

Scott Iskowitz/ The Tampa Tribune

Cans of food line the pantry at the Kaye Prox Food Bank Wednesday at the Lutheran Church of Our Saviour. The food bank runs short of food and has a waiting list of people.

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By ANGELA DELGADO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 28, 2007

Updated: 11/26/2007 06:24 pm

Additional photos

TOWN 'N COUNTRY - A few years ago, Charlotte Murphy was working at the airport, living comfortably and volunteering her time to help the needy.

Then she became ill. She had been in an accident, and one day she woke up practically paralyzed. That was 14 years ago. Eight years later, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Medicare didn't cover her medicines or medical bills, she said.

Her apartment complex raised her rent. Her monthly Social Security check wasn't going as far as before. She began paying her bills based on priority.

Rent comes first, then electricity, telephone service and medicine. Food is dead last.

Murphy, 60, moved to Town 'N Country in July. She was passing by the Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, 8401 W. Hillsborough Ave., on her motorized wheelchair when someone informed her about the Kaye Prox Food Bank.

The food bank was founded 20 years ago by Kaye Prox, who also founded Metropolitan Ministries and The Divine Providence Food Bank, now known as America's Second Harvest of Tampa Bay. The food bank was named in honor of Prox after she died in 2003.

Church of Our Saviour runs the food bank within its facilities and opens its doors to clients Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Kaye Prox also gets food and volunteers from partners Incarnation Catholic Church, Wesley Memorial United Methodist and First Reformed Presbyterian.

Kaye Prox serves people living in these six ZIP code areas: 33615, 33634, 33635, 33625, 33624 and 33614.

Food bank pamphlets state Publix donates 1,100 pounds of baked goods a month, and Smokey Bones in Citrus Park gives about 75 pounds of food a month. Monetary donations go toward buying food from America's Second Harvest for 18 cents a pound.

Despite the large donations, co-director Joan Baun encourages people to donate what they can.

"Six cans of vegetables could be a large donation," she said.

It's even better if those cans have pop tops. They're much easier for a homeless person to get into without a can opener.

The food bank provides "day bags" - filled with enough food to feed a person for a day - to homeless people when the church is open. In a month, 500 day bags are given out, said Marilyn Ruggiero, co-director of the food bank.

Last year, the bank fed about 2,400 families. This year, Ruggiero predicts they will serve more than 3,000.

The waiting list to receive food fills a large binder.

Demand has been picking up this year. Ruggiero blames the area's lack of affordable housing.

People are "paying more for a one-bedroom apartment than what I am paying for my mortgage," she said. "It's like it's increased overnight."

Wednesday, Murphy went to Kaye Prox for her bi-monthly appointment. She took home several bags of bread, pasta, frozen meals and a canned ham. This will keep her nourished for two weeks.

"I was always one to volunteer time; it seems very strange I had to come and ask for help myself," Murphy said.

Griseth De Jesus, 47, knows how she feels.

De Jesus, of Town 'N Country, recently fell on hard times. She is dealing with the possibility of having breast cancer and no health care to pay for treatments. She is on disability and receives $623 a month. Wednesday was her first time at the food bank.

"If it wasn't for these places that give us nourishment, Lord have mercy," she said in Spanish. "Thanks to these places, this is how many people survive."

Those who wish to donate may drop off food from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays at Church of Our Saviour. Checks, made payable to The Kaye Prox Food Bank, may also be dropped off at the church.

"I look at it this way, people become desperate and they'll do desperate things," Baun said when asked why the food bank is so important. "It's hard for them to come here and ask for assistance, but if you don't have an out for them, desperate people do desperate things.

"We're helping people as much as we can through the tough times," she said.

Reporter Angela Delgado can be reached at (813) 865-1501 or adelgado@tampatrib.com.

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