PALM HARBOR, Fla. — After years of fundraising and planning, a Palm Harbor food pantry is opening its brand-new facility.

What You Need To Know

  • FEAST Food Pantry held a ribbon cutting Monday to open its new facility in Palm Harbor

  • The new facility is on Nebraska Avenue and next to Grace Community Church

  • Along with the facility, it has four other donation boxes where people can donate food 24/7

FEAST Food Pantry had spent the last nine months operating out of a fire department building and now has its own building ready to go.

Just a can, can go a long way — especially if you’re hungry but can’t afford groceries.

Obviously, one can of tuna isn’t exactly a feast, but the folks at FEAST Food Pantry see each donation and food item as a true gift for someone who needs sustenance.

That’s why Joe Cilento has been volunteering here for nearly six years.

“I feel proud,” Cilento said. “I feel very proud. The volunteers I’ve met here are great people.”

Cilento suffered a stroke before volunteering and said if he got better, he’d find a way to do some good, which is why he’s here.

“My official job is I pick things up, I put things down,” Cilento said.

As you could imagine, Cilento is selling his work short.

FEAST gets donations daily, sometimes by the truckful and has them sorted and eventually bagged to give to people.

For the longest time, it was operating out of an old building where Cilento says there were holes in the floor and had just run its course.

Now, that changes with this new building on Nebraska Avenue.

“Before, we had two dilapidated trailers that were kind of cobbled together that were a mess,” said Tamara Black, executive director of FEAST Food Pantry. “And as we saw the growth, we knew we need a new building.”

According to Black, last year they gave food to roughly 54,000 people, so the need to update and enhance their space was huge.

“it’s been very fulfilling for me personally to see families in need who are suffering from food insecurity, be able to come here to a safe and welcoming environment and obtain food for their families,” Black said.

But that suffering isn’t expected to drop in the near future.

Back in March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled food deliveries to food banks and cut back assistance by hundreds of millions of dollars.

While the funding isn’t impacting FEAST specifically, according to Black, they do anticipate that recent federal cuts will impact people in Pinellas County who will ultimately need food assistance as a result.

“We’re projecting that we’re going to see 75,000 people in 2025 because of those cuts,” Black said.

It’s something Cilento worries about, too.

“We’re concerned,” he said. “The need is there. Every day we sign on, register more clients.”

But even with that outlook, he sees the upgrades FEAST has made and knows higher ups, like Black, are moving the food pantry in the right direction to help as many people as they possibly can.

Having that can-do attitude makes all the difference.

FEAST Food Pantry’s building is right next to Grace Community Church in Palm Harbor.

Along with the facility, it has four other donation boxes where people can donate food 24/7.