UPDATED: 05/15/20 4:35 p.m.
Mahaffey Theater’s last concert was a March 7 performance by the Florida Orchestra, and General Manager Joe Santiago told Creative Loafing Tampa that a date for the return of live music to his 2,000-plus capacity venue is a “moving target.”
But that doesn’t mean that the space is going unused.
On April 20, the Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger (TBNEH) announced a $100,000 donation from The Edwards Family Foundation (EFF). The money will help the nonprofit provide food to children and families in St. Petersburg through the Meals On Wheels for Kids (MOW4Kids) program.
EFF—named for Bill Edwards, who also owns Mahaffey Theater—is going even further by opening the venue so that Meals and wheels can use it as a distribution site for meals, every Friday through Monday all the way through August.
In a phone call with CL, Santiago said that Meals on Wheels volunteers, as well as members of the Mahaffey staff, will begin working on the mission inside of the Mahaffey lobby this Friday, May 16.
Families interested in getting MOW4Kids meals should call TBNEH (813-344-5837) or submit an application at networktoendhunger.org. Eligible families can start to receive meal delivery the following week.
“Support from partners like the Edwards Family Foundation is critical during this difficult time,” Caitlyn Peacock, Executive Director of TBNEH, said in a release.
“This gift will allow us to provide a much-needed service in St. Petersburg by distributing at least 25,000 meals to children that are at home and unable to access an emergency feeding site. In addition, we can distribute thousands of pounds of shelf stable groceries to their families as well.”
The release adds that MOW4Kids is the first program of its kind, and was developed in response to COVID-19 school closures, to serve children, 18 years or younger, with meals delivered to their home by volunteers. Kids must be able to eat solid foods, and St. Petersburg zip codes currently served by the program include 33701, 33705, 33707, 33711, 33712, and 33713.
In a Friday press release TBNEH announced two new partners, Catherine A. Hickman Theater of Gulfport and Clearview United Methodist Church, which will host weekly meal packing events and assist with delivery to children and families in St. Petersburg and Gulfport through the Meals On Wheels for Kids (MOW4Kids) program.
Volunteers will assemble shelf stable foods and produce at Hickman Theater on Saturday for delivery on Monday and at Clearview for delivery on Wednesday. On delivery days, volunteers load school buses with produce and shelf stable foods to deliver to the homes of children and families around St. Petersburg.
“As COVID closed schools and took its toll on the economy, we were so grateful to have space to offer when the Network approached us about hosting this program,” Pastor Keri LaBrant, Clearview United Methodist Church said in the release. “We and the Network both value the most vulnerable people around us, and doing more together for families who are struggling is a win-win.”
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This article appears in May 7-13, 2020.