Prominent developer pledges $1M to food bank

SARASOTA — All Faiths Food Bank, the leading hunger-based nonprofit in Sarasota County, announced plans for a $3.1 million expansion that will double its size and capacity.

The lead gift for the expansion project, $1 million, comes from the Benderson Family, according to a release from the organization. University Park-based Benderson Development is one of the largest developers in Florida, with a concentration of properties on the Gulf Coast. All Faiths will seek additional financial gifts that can go toward the project, CEO Sandra Frank says. The food bank is in an office park off Fruitville Road, east of Interstate 75.

The plan for the expansion, the release adds, is to buy the warehouse and land next door, which will add 40,000 square feet with a 4,000-square-foot freezer/cooler. All Faiths, officials say, has access to millions more pounds of donated foods, but not the matching amount of warehouse and cooler space.

“We anticipate All Faiths will distribute an all-time record eight million pounds of food this year,” Frank says in the release. “Even more startling is 50% of children in Sarasota County and nearly 90% of the children in DeSoto are either going hungry or face a high risk of hunger on any given day. The new facility will allow us to provide better services to all our neighbors while we shrink that hunger gap.”

All Faiths Food Bank distributed 7.1 million pounds of food equating to 5.8 million meals last year. Its mission is to lead the community to end hunger.