All Faiths Food Bank receives equipment to help with disaster recovery efforts ahead of hurricane season

Kimberly Kuizon
·2 min read

SARASOTA, Fla. - The food found at All Faiths Food Bank in Sarasota goes to those in need, and when a hurricane approaches, they prepare for distribution efforts.

"When we had the opportunity to pay it forward and help someone who has continuously helped the community, we said ‘how can we help? How can we expand your capacity? How can we help you provide more food for our citizens?'" said Glama Carter, the community adaptation manager for the American Red Cross.

Through the American Red Cross Community Adaptation Program, additional freezer and refrigeration capacity has been added. All Faiths Food Bank also received equipment to help with the transport of food within the warehouse.

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"It is meaningful, because we are actually adding capacity for cooler, freezer items," said Bill Haley, the chief supply chain officer for All Faiths Food Bank. "They are actually helping us, adding capacity by 20%, which is critical during normal times, but during times of disaster, with our generation set here, even more critical."

All Faith Food Bank determined they needed the extra equipment after experiencing Hurricane Ian to help with recovery efforts after storms.

"We will be one of the few sites around here locally where we can actually have a generator set that works that allows us to now put in place storage for cooler and freezer items a lot of perishable items that otherwise wouldn’t make it through the storm," said Haley.

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It helps make All Faiths more than just a food bank, but a distribution for those in need – from disaster recovery workers to the neighbors working to recover.

"By providing them with more equipment and more freezers, storage and then machinery that can help them expand their capacities, they will be able to serve more, much faster, efficiently and be able to, at the end, contribute to the overall standing up of our community," said Carter.

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