Gulf Coast Community Foundation (Gulf Coast) is thrilled to announce that its successful Feeding Hungry Families manuscript – authored in collaboration with All Faiths Food Bank – has been published in the upcoming special issue for Local Development and Society, a national, peer-reviewed journal. The manuscript will be featured in a special issue on place-based philanthropic institutions and community development.  The manuscript reviewed the successful collective impact initiative, Feeding Hungry Families created by Gulf Coast, its donors, and All Faiths Food Bank to feed hungry families in Sarasota and DeSoto counties. Launched in 2014, the initiative focused on collecting local data, increasing community awareness of the need, and launching the Campaign Against Summer Hunger (CASH). In its first year, our community raised more than $1.2 million and 766,253 pounds of food. Ten years later, more than $14 million has been raised since the program’s inception. Long-term, the Feeding Hungry Families Initiative has increased community capacity to distribute nutritious food and improved collaboration between All Faiths Food Bank and partner agencies. While Gulf Coast launched this national award-winning effort, it has now transitioned successfully to community ownership and management. Expanded community gardens, increased fresh produce at food pantries, improved refrigeration for meat and dairy products, and additional summer feeding sites for children have been sustained. The manuscript highlights the value of long-term, effective collaboration between Gulf Coast and All Faiths Food Bank. Gulf Coast and its donors continue to support All Faiths Food Bank with data and expertise, financial support, and empowerment to learn through experimentation and evolve to meet new needs. The two organizations have shown the value of a comprehensive approach to hunger relief. The Feeding Hungry Families manuscript is one example of the power of philanthropy to create lasting, positive, community-wide change.

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