“Since 1999, Our Lady’s Pantry has been putting food on the tables of thousands of men, women and children here in Southern Hillsborough County,” said director Tom Bullaro. “This has only been possible thanks to the generosity of neighbors near and far. In fact, neighborhoods throughout Sun City Center and surrounding towns, and as far away as Lithia and Parrish, bring us food from time to time.”
“One neighborhood, however, stands apart from the others in their dedication to our pantry,” said Bullaro. “That would be Valencia Lakes. When Anita and I first moved from Pennsylvania to Florida in 2004, Southern Hillsborough County, especially along U.S. 301, was mostly countryside. But that changed quickly. And among the new homes going up everywhere, Valencia Lakes, just a couple of miles north of Our Lady’s Pantry, in Wimauma, seems to have adopted us into their care.”
Word of Mouth Marge Burk from Valencia Lakes, who has worked at Our Lady’s Pantry with her husband, Dave, for six years already, said the pantry has always had lots of volunteers from Valencia Lakes.
“I think what happened is that as some of us find the pantry, and we tell our friends,” said Burk. “So then, they come and work too. It’s kind of word of mouth more than anything. Obviously, not everyone is free to work, but they can all bring food. And so, they do.”
According to Burk, the Valencia Lakes Women’s Club, which started in 2016, has long had a box in the community center where residents just drop in food, knowing that somebody else is going to pick it up and bring it to the pantry.
“So yeah, it’s a community thing, but independent people do their own thing too,” said Burk. “Gail Greenburg, for example, who is not part of the women’s club, puts out the call for donations through the Nextdoor app.”
Kim Kordalski, co-director of Our Lady’s Pantry, can’t thank Greenberg and the Burks enough.
“Gail works on-site every Friday and asks me, ‘What do you need?’ She then puts a list on the Nextdoor app. Gail and the Burks bring in the food every time they come,” said Kordalski. “Just this week, Linda Benson, from the Women’s Club of Valencia Lakes, brought us a check for $2,000, along with 500 pounds of food from the club’s most recent food drive. Last year, we received an amazing donation of $8,700 from One Hundred Who Care Valencia Lakes.”
“Whether donating food, time or treasure, it’s like Valencia Lakes has us under their wing,” said Bullaro. “We thank them for their extraordinary care over many years now.”
