Al’s Pals Mobile Food Pantry -Delivering Food Where It’s Needed

On Al’s Pals Mobile Food Pantry Facebook page for the week of August 2nd, it stated “Happy week!! Mobile food pantry this week at St Mark’s Episcopal on 6th and Elkcam on Marco Island 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM. Join us for great bags of food, produce, dog and cat food and feminine products. Our Daily Bread Food Pantry and Al’s Pals will bring smiles to your faces.”

Al’s Pals Mobile Food Pantry is a mobile outreach program for Our Daily Bread Food Pantry (ODBFP). The mobile food pantry goes on location to serve individuals with limited mobility or who are unable to attend the ODBFP weekly distribution at the Winterberry location. 

I joined the Al’s Pals Mobile Food Pantry group last Friday at the St. Mark’s Episcopal location on Marco. Al’s Pals volunteers distributed about 73 bags of food which included both perishable and non-perishable food items and served about 321 guests. 

Al’s Pals Mobile Food Pantry had two trailers packed with bags of non-perishables, fresh produce, dairy, meat products and also supplies for dogs and cats (courtesy of For the Love of Cats) and feminine products (courtesy of Alliance for Period Supplies). 

For Friday’s food distribution at St. Marks, Al’s Pals also had specialty packages for children’s birthdays, filled with everything you need to bake a cake and celebrate your birthday; and an art supply bag for the little ones.

Occasionally, I like to tag along with Al’s Pals and their merry band of volunteers to help out. I’ve joined Al’s Pals at their previous site at the Manatee Elementary School location, but that has since been changed to the St. Finbarr Catholic Church in Naples. I have also visited the 41 Corridor locations and even 6 L’s Farm Road community in Naples. 

As food insecurity spikes, mobile food pantries like ODBFP’s Al’s Pals bring the food to where it is needed. Mobile food pantries have been around since the late 1990s, but this trend is here to stay and expands the accessibility of the brick-and-mortar food distribution location. Mobile food pantries can travel and bring both fresh, frozen, and nonperishable needs to predetermined locations quickly.

In 2020 ODBFP served over 115,000 people, a 365% increase from 2019 due to Covid-19, and the demand continue to increase. ODBFP's mission is "Working to Wipe Out Hunger" in the areas served in Southwest Florida, making food accessible and available to anyone in need. An all-volunteer workforce brings in food and donations from local community organizations, clubs, neighborhoods, individuals, businesses, grant makers and ministry organizations.

How can you help? Below is the list of ODBFP’s daily critical needs to stock up the pantry for families and children in the community: peanut butter 16-oz., squeeze jelly, spaghetti and spaghetti sauce, cooking oil in small bottles, mayonnaise and mustard in small jars, macaroni and cheese, fruit cups, canned protein meals such as beef stew and chili, boxed dinners like Hamburger Helper, potatoes, ramen noodles, canned beans, vegetables, and canned fruits.

You can drop off your donations to ODBFP at 1450 Winterberry Drive (back of the building at Auburndale Avenue). Other drop off locations are located at the Bargain Basket, Chamber of Commerce, Keep in Touch, Marco Island Post Office, San Marco Catholic Church, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, New Life Community Church, YMCA, and Winn-Dixie.

Would you like to make a donation that won’t cost you a cent? It is easy with Amazon Smile. Once you are set up, a portion of every purchase you make on Amazon goes to ODBFP. This is a one-time set-up at: smile.amazon.com.

 Al’s Pals Mobile Pantry schedule visits, also posted on the ODBFP calendar:

6 L’s Farm and the surrounding community 

St. Finbarr Catholic Church, Naples 

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Marco Island 

Naples Botanical Garden, Naples

Pelican Creek, Henderson Creek Road, Naples