Giving Thanks to Generosity

The United Church of Marco Island (UCMI) presented Our Daily Bread Food Pantry (ODBFP) a check for $50,000 towards meals for the 2024 year on Sunday, April 28th. ODBFP Executive Director Evelyn Rossetti-Ryan received the check on behalf of the Pantry and thanked the congregation. “All of us at Our Daily Bread Food Pantry are so grateful for the renewed support of the United Church of 

Marco Island. Your generous $50,000 investment this year to help our neighbors in Marco Island will make a real difference in fighting food insecurity for the children and families we serve.”

Michelle Hennessy, Chair of the Missions Committee added, “The United Church of Marco Island is proud of our long partnership with ODBFP. We look forward to continuing to help in the fight against hunger locally with our food collections at the church as well as at the Bargain Basket and to fulfilling this grant request.”

 “Our partnership with Our Daily Bread has existed since their inception,” said Samantha Arago, UCMI’s Director of Operations. “We are proud to work with them year after year. Their work in this community is above and beyond.”

Here are stats provided by ODBFP on the challenges that exist in Collier County as they respond to the growing demand of food insecurity.

* In 2024, nearly 22,000 people, over 8,300 children will be given food a total of over 253,000 times.

* Our Daily Bread hands out food six days per week. 

* The Saturday Food Pantry on Marco Island consistently serves about 1,000 households each week. 

* The Pantry is registering over 150 new households each month.

* The Pantry will deliver over 20,000 snacks to school children in 2024.

Volunteers are the heart and soul of Our Daily Bread Food Pantry. According to Evelyn Rosetti-Ryan, “Our volunteers give themselves selflessly six days a week to ensure that neighbors dealing with food insecurity receive food, hope, and encouragement.” 

For National Volunteer Week, ODBFP celebrated and gave thanks to the 250+ friends and supporters and their vital role in making a difference to the community, making sure that the day-to-day operations get done at the Pantry.

Evelyn added, “They ensure that our community receives food, hope, and encouragement daily. We value every one of them and the tremendous energy, dedication, time, and generosity of spirit that they bring to the Pantry daily. They come from all walks of life, all age groups, and from all over the country. No matter where ODBFP volunteers come from, our common threads are compassion, kindness, dedication, and a love for people. They are the unsung heroes who get it done every day! At the end of the day, the smiles on our guests’ faces say it all.”

On January 9, 2024, Our Daily Bread Food Pantry turned EIGHT. In 2016, five local women wanted to solve a problem here in Marco, starting with local school students coming in hungry on Mondays as they did not have enough food to eat over the weekend. In 2016, 2,600 individuals were served by ODBFP confirming that food insecurity exists in our local community.

Today, ODBFP has 250 volunteers who organize and pack food donations and distribute food at the Saturday pantry and mobile pantries. In addition, Our Daily Bread Food Pantry volunteers deliver breakfast and weekend backpack meals to partner schools. According to Rossetti-Ryan, ODBFP is proud that close to 10 percent of the original volunteer team remains actively involved. This group includes people like Ron and Nancy McClay who manage the Pantry’s operations and ensure that the Pantry runs like a well-oiled machine.

In 2023, the Pantry’s 250 volunteers distributed two million pounds of food to Collier County residents facing food insecurity and the need is growing. 

Call for Volunteers

For Marco’s community of active retirees, volunteering is one way of making a difference and being part of a worthy cause. Our Daily Bread Food Pantry is seeking volunteers. If you are interested, please email info@ourdailybreadfoodpantry.org or call 239-259-5188.