Manatee County pivoted on its plan to write checks to the Mayors’ Feed the Hungry Program from pandemic relief money.
County information outreach manager Nicholas Azzara told The Islander Nov. 24 that the county granted $450,000 directly to the food bank program instead of sending $150,000 through its municipalities to support the program.
County commissioners voted Nov. 10 to designate $150,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds — with $25,000 heading to each of the county’s cities — to support the program.
Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach then approved $25,000 checks for the program, but choose to withhold the funds until the cities received clarification regarding how the money would reach its citizens.
Anna Maria commissioners had yet to discuss the issue before the county rescinded its decision, but Mayor Dan Murphy was pushing for the program to add local nonprofits Roser Church Food Pantry and All Island Denominations to its partner list for identifying the needy.
Azzara said the county’s reversal was due to “restrictions with the CARES Act funds” that prohibited the county from fulfilling its initial action, but he did not detail the restrictions.
He also did not explain why funding for the program increased from $150,000 to $450,000.
“The grant will go directly to Mayors’ Feed the Hungry and they’ll work with the cities to determine how to spend the money,” Azzara said.
The volunteer-based program has given away more than 600 tons of food and $3.5 million in food gift cards since it began in 1987.
A representative of the food bank program had previously stated the funding would provide $10 gift cards from Publix to the needy to buy groceries.
Azzara said he was unsure if the program would be able to use gift cards due to CARES Act funding restrictions.
Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy announced the county’s decision to city commissioners at a Nov. 24 meeting.
“I had several concerns…. Making the needy roll into town for a Publix gift card doesn’t make much sense,” Murphy said. “But, evidently, it’s a dead issue.”
“Did they change the name from Mayors’ Feed the Hungry to County Commissioners Feed the Hungry?’” Commissioner Joe Muscatello asked. “Why does it even have that name if we don’t have a say?”
“It just didn’t look good to me,” Commission Chair Carol Carter said about the county’s initial $150,000 plan. “But I guess it’s now out of our hands.”
Azzara said the $450,000 granted to the food program must be spent by the end of the year.