Stick A Fork In It

Some BIG CHANGES are coming to Stick A Fork In It! And while we're assembling all the pieces behind the scenes, we wanted to take this opportunity to revisit some of our most popular and powerful episodes. In this first retrospective, we learn how SOF Missions, led by Dr. Damon Friedman, has been rescuing veterans from suicide with the same physical, mental, and spiritual help that saved his own life after duty. Keep an eye out for the big news announcement by following us @FeedingTampaBay on all social media channels!

Over the past six years our own Khalil Rasheed has gone from temp worker to Lead Driver and now Director of Logistics! And it wasn't just his calm, steadfast demeanor that got him there, but also how seriously he takes safety and planning, both on the road and in our warehouse. Tune in to learn how his experience managing military inventory brought him to Feeding Tampa Bay, and how he focuses on family during Black History Month -- which in his words, is every month! Follow @FeedingTampaBaya to see our drivers and warehouse staff in action, and find out how you can get involved in the fight to end hunger.

How do we avoid catching and spreading the flu? Well, our friend Dr. Kopec says we can start by washing our hands, and remembering to cover coughs with our sleeves. But tune in to learn why the flu might seem worse this year, and what to do if symptoms seem particularly bad for you or a loved one! Let's keep each other healthy and safe, during flu season and beyond. Follow @FeedingTampaBay to see how we're working with other community partners to bring health and stability to our neighbors, and how you can get involved, too.

We're hosting our first MLK Day of Service at the new Causeway Center on January 20th this year, as a way to honor the civil rights hero by improving our community. And we invited our friend, Dr. Samuel Wright, to reflect with us on the meaning of the holiday, and what it means to serve. Dr. Wright served as the Vice Chair of the African American History Task Force of Florida, and founded the Black Heritage Festival in our community all the way back in 1999! So tune in to learn about his long journey as a freedom fighter, and what you can do to be one, too. Follow @FeedingTampaBay to take the first steps, and join one of our MLK Day volunteer locations on Monday, January 20th!

What does a new year mean for Feeding Tampa Bay? It means leaning into new ways to learn and provide what our community needs. Join us for a fireside chat with our very own Thomas Mantz as we dig into what it means to go beyond food. We've built a home where services can gather, and tested it under stress -- now it's time to see what it can really do with help from our partners and neighbors like you. Follow @FeedingTampaBay to see what services and partners we've brought into our world, and how you can lend or receive a hand, too.

After such a triumphant and challenging year, we've renamed our annual "Humans of the Food Bank" episode to "Heroes of Causeway"! The incredible people who have helped us settle into our new home, respond to back-to-back hurricanes, and level up our mission to end hunger are truly deserving of the name. Over the course of this episode and the next, we'll introduce you to nine of our colleagues from various teams and departments, so you can see who actually drives the work that we do, and how they do it. We're grateful to work with such compassionate and dedicated individuals, and together we're going to feed Tampa Bay in so many new ways! Follow @FeedingTampaBay on social media to see our guests' smiling faces, and to get involved in our work.

After such a triumphant and challenging year, we've renamed our annual "Humans of the Food Bank" episode to "Heroes of Causeway"! The incredible people who have helped us settle into our new home, respond to back-to-back hurricanes, and level up our mission to end hunger are truly deserving of the name. Over the course of this episode and the next, we'll introduce you to nine of our colleagues from various teams and departments, so you can see who actually drives the work that we do, and how they do it. We're grateful to work with such compassionate and dedicated individuals, and together we're going to feed Tampa Bay in so many new ways! Follow @FeedingTampaBay on social media to see our guests' smiling faces, and to get involved in our work.

We're grateful to have such a wide range of expertise and such a depth of commitment from our FTB board members. And that members like Roberto Torres (owner of The Blind Tiger Cafe) are willing to share their perspectives with us here on the show, to give our audience a peek behind the curtain. Tune in to hear Roberto explain the decision and process behind building our new Causeway Center facility, and some of the other awesome local projects he's helping to oversee as well! Follow @FeedingTampaBay to see how things are progressing in our new home, and how you can lend a hand to our neighbors in need.

Today's guest, Roger Germann, tells us that every person who visits the Florida Aquarium is helping them to preserve nature and provide a better life to the animals they care for. And they want to pay that support forward to the community as well, through partnerships like the one they've formed with us here at Feeding Tampa Bay. Tune in to learn about Roger's journey from a hardscrabble youth in Chicago, and how reconnecting people with nature has proven to be one of the most rewarding experiences he could have asked for. Follow @FeedingTampaBay on social media to learn about other community partners joining us in the fight to end hunger.

Soldiers often learn to suffer in silence, which is why it's so important that they have advocates like retired Col. DJ Reyes. His work with Veteran Treatment Courts in Florida have helped numerous service members turn their lives around and reconnect with their families and purpose. On today's episode, we learn what it's like to spend 35 years touring the world on active duty, and why so many of our military personnel find themselves struggling when they return home from a life of constant conflict. Visit the websites DJ mentions on the episode to learn more about him and the mentor program he organizes below: www.cuspisvir.org www.hillsboroughcountymentors.org And follow @FeedingTampaBay on social media to learn about other ways we support our service members!