The federal government provides food for disadvantaged kids through the school breakfast and lunch program, but Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano wants to make sure bellies are full on the weekends and holidays, too.
Fasano is teaming up with Pack-a-Sack 4 Kids in July, which provides a backpack full of food that each participating child can bring home on Friday afternoons that will get them through the whole weekend. More than 7,000 children in Pasco County alone lack adequate food during the weekends and school holidays, Fasano said.
Each tax collector’s office in the county will be a collection site for non-perishable food items such as single-serve cereal boxes, bowls, oatmeal packets, canned pasta, juice boxes, canned meats, crackers, pudding and applesauce cups, as well as other items like tuna or chicken packets.
Food will be picked up weekly as to allow fresh fruits and vegetables, but Fasano is asking that no items be donated that require refrigeration.
“There should not be a single child who goes to bed hungry each night,” Fasano said in a release. “Every item of food that is collected will go into the hands of young people throughout Pasco County to ensure that they have a full stomach during weekend and school holiday periods. I encourage anyone who visits one of our offices to bring in an item or two that a child would enjoy eating.”
Contributions can be made at the Land O’ Lakes and Dade City offices for the tax collector, as well as New Port Richey and Gulf Harbors, Fasano said. For more information about the food collection drive, call Greg Giordano at (727) 847-8179.
