The Laker/Lutz News

Pack-a-Sack 4 Kids

Charity aims to put food on the table for kids

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The featured charity for the Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office in September will be One Community Now’s annual Hunger Walk.

“I applaud One Community Now and the organizers of the Hunger Walk for their commitment to fighting hunger and food insecurity for students in our county,” said Tax Collector Mike Fasano, in a news release.

“Since its inception, we’ve been blessed to field a large team of staff and friends of our office to be a part of ‘Team Tax Collector’ to raise funds for this important charity. We encourage members of the community, who are already so generous in their giving to our charitable programs, to consider donating to this important program as well,” Fasano said.

The Hunger Walk is scheduled for Oct. 2 at 10 a.m., at Sims Park in New Port Richey, and directly funds The Pack-a-Sack 4 Kids Program — the keystone of the food relief efforts of the One Community Now organization.

Children who live in danger of not having food on their dining room table are given a backpack full of healthy meals each Friday, to ensure that they have food to eat over the weekend.

The students return the empty backpack to their school on Monday, at which time it is then refilled for the following weekend.

It is estimated the Pack-a-Sack 4 Kids Program feeds more than 1,600 children each weekend. Since the advent of Covid, the number of kids in need has grown to the point where one out of four Pasco children does not have enough to eat, according to the release.

A majority of those students also qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program.

To donate to the Hunger Walk or to join Team Tax Collector, visit OneCommunityNowHungerWalk.org/taxcollector.

For more information about the charitable giving programs at the Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office, call Greg Giordano at 727-847-8179, or visit PascoTaxes.com.

For details about One Community Now’s Pack-a-Sack 4 Kids Program, call Executive Director Patti Templeton at 727-900-6280, or visit OneCommunityNow.com.

Published September 01, 2021

Fasano collecting weekend food for needy kids

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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.