Pirates Assist with Local Non-Profit’s Food Distribution in Bradenton
Just like that, everything has changed for all of us.
Not just baseball, but the nation and the world is facing the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and taking precautions to keep each other safe. Last week, Commissioner Rob Manfred and the 30 Major League Baseball team owners announced the suspension of the Spring Training season and a delay to the start of the regular season.
As we all work to understand the extent of the situation, many are looking for ways to help in their local communities and this week the Pirates worked to make an immediate impact with a local Bradenton non-profit.
As you can imagine, it takes a lot to feed the amount of people that keep Spring Training running smoothly on a daily basis. Once a pause was put on the season, the Pirates southern operations staff and team chef Tony Palatucci looked to see how the excess food supply could best be used to assist the community.
The next day, all remaining food items from the staff food service as well as over 40 cases of food from LECOM Park concessions were donated to help Our Daily Bread, a local food distribution center located directly across from LECOM Park.
The total donation, that includes bread, chicken, pork, fish, vegetables from the clubhouse, as well as cheese, luncheon meat and more from concessions, will ensure the needs of the more than 250 individuals served each day are met. The majority of those served by Our Daily Bread are families struggling to raise children.
“With the abrupt halt to operations, we realized we were in the position to make an impact in the community with our excess supplies,” said Jeff Podobnik, Pirates Vice President of Florida and Dominican Republic Operations. “We identified a need at Our Daily Bread so we could make a direct impact on a neighbor and assist with the wonderful things they do to serve the underprivileged.”
Our Daily Bread of Bradenton was established in 1984 in response to the community’s need to feed the hungry regardless of race, color, or belief. Since then, with extremely limited resources and space, Our Daily Bread has served over 2,000,000 meals.
In addition, the Pirates staff assisted Our Daily Bread with adhering to gathering regulations as well as secured portion control containers so those individuals served can minimize contact and time within the building.
There are small things we all can do right now to make a difference in our neighborhoods, as we work to find ways to make an even greater impact on our community as a whole in the near future.
On Monday, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association announced they have teamed up to help two national food distribution groups with a combined $1 million donation that will be split evenly between Feeding America and Meals on Wheels America.
If you are looking for a way to help with local food distribution, please consider visiting ourdailybreadofbradenton.org/donate to help in Bradenton or our friends at The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in the Pittsburgh area.
