SARASOTA, FL – On October 23, All Faiths Food Bank presented its first-ever FriendsGiving fundraiser, which will become the organization’s annual fundraiser and signature event for the holiday season. The event raised $188,000 in support of the food bank’s ThankFULL Tummies campaign, an annual effort to distribute turkeys to neighbors facing hunger during the holidays.
During the event, which took place at Mattison’s Forty-One, co-chairs Dawn Doughty and Elaine Burton welcomed the 150 guests, then All Faiths Food Bank’s CEO Sandra Frank spoke about community needs as well as the food bank’s efforts related to Hurricane Ian and what looks to be a long recovery ahead. Chef Paul Mattison emceed the live auction and paddle raise, and then a powerful video was shown highlighting two of the food bank’s team members with lived experience of food insecurity.
Guests enjoyed a delicious family-style meal, featuring Roasted Turkey Galantine. Major sponsors for the event were Mariner Wealth Advisors, Bruce and Elaine Burton, Dennis and Dawn Doughty, and Ron and Jo Jadin.
“Challenging economic conditions, surging costs of living throughout the state and now the impacts of Hurricane Ian are hitting the most at-risk in our community hard, especially children, families, and seniors on fixed incomes,” said Frank. “We are so grateful to all of our sponsors and guests, who have ensured that thousands of our neighbors who are facing hunger will have the opportunity to enjoy a delicious, healthy holiday meal.”
This holiday season, All Faiths’ goal is to distribute more than 13,000 turkeys, and a total of 3.6 million holiday meals, through its own distributions as well as through its network of 200 partner agencies. For more information, or to make a gift to the ThankFULL campaign, visit allfaithsfoodbank.org.
About All Faiths Food Bank
All Faiths Food Bank is the only food bank and largest hunger relief organization in Sarasota and DeSoto counties, providing millions of meals each year with nearly 200 agencies and programs throughout the community. All Faiths works not only to fight hunger today but also strives to end hunger – forever – by helping families and individuals gain long-term food security, enjoy better health outcomes, and achieve self-sufficiency. In 2021, All Faiths distributed 19 million pounds of food – equating to 17 million meals, provided 36% more meals than 2019 (pre-pandemic), and remained steadfast in its commitment to provide nutritional assistance to community members, including 44% who were new to the food bank. For its efforts, All Faiths was honored as the 2021 “Nonprofit of the Year” by the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce; the organization was also recognized as a Top 4 Food Bank in the country in 2020. All Faiths is rated 4 stars by Charity Navigator and is a member of the Feeding America and Feeding Florida networks. For more information, visit allfaithsfoodbank.org.