WEST FLORIDA
$63.5 million Total Project Cost
$12 million FCLF Federal NMTC Allocation
$9.5 million FCLF Community Development Financing
Construction of new 215,000 sq-ft facility to address food insecurity
Estimated reach 716,000 annually
137 Temporary and 199 Permanent jobs estimated
"Our new facility will be a community center that unites, connects, and lifts; a common vision of our organizations. Changing outcomes in communities requires a significant investment and partners who will boldly support it. We are so grateful to Florida Community Loan Fund for coming alongside us as partners in creating new outcomes for our friends and neighbors." – Thomas Mantz, President and CEO, Feeding Tampa Bay
Feeding Tampa Bay has served over 772 million+ meals to food-insecure people in West Central Florida for more than 40 years, reaching Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Manatee, Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties. Food insecurity’s burden falls excessively on children, seniors, and communities with a concentration of black and brown families. At present 1 in 6 adults and 1 in 4 children in this 10-county area don’t have enough to eat.
FTB is one of the top 20 food banks in the Feeding America network and partners with 400+ hunger relief partners and 2200+ businesses to provide critically needed food. Its services impact the entirety of the food relief system in the 10 counties, in adition to connecting individuals to numerous social service partners with the goal of lifting those struggling to a life of health and capability.
Four years ago, Feeding Tampa Bay made a commitment to end hunger in its service area by 2025, through increasing access to food and serving as the conveyor of social services to lift families toward self-sustainability. Fueled by the generous support of donors, volunteers, and partners, FTB scaled their personnel and fleet to meet growth. However, it became evident that extreme limitations in its current facility would limit the ability to succeed.
With financing through Florida Community Loan Fund and the New Markets Tax Credit program, Feeding Tampa Bay is building a new 215,000 square-foot Hunger Relief Center, which will include ample dry, cold, and frozen storage, culinary kitchen and food processing areas, volunteer workspace, meeting rooms for training classes and community use, and a community store. The upper level will house administrative offices and a public venue. Without NMTC, the project would be delayed by years as other funding comes in.
In addition to providing food relief services, FTB also offers certified job training in culinary arts, warehouse logistics, and CDL driving. The 8-10 week program is hands-on, has no fees, offers a stipend to each trainee, and has a job placement success rate of 70%. The job training program provides a path to self-sustainability to those with barriers to employment.
Florida Community Loan Fund provided $12 million in Federal NMTCs for Feeding Tampa Bay, with additional NMTCs provided by Corporation for Supportive Housing, Cadence Community Capital, Black Business Investment Fund, River Gorge Capital, CCG Community Partners, and Capital One Community Renewal Fund. FCLF also provided $9.5 million financing through its community development loan program. Additional financing was provided by Reinvestment Fund. The investor is Capital One. The project has financial support from area City and County governments and aligns with the Tampa Bay Economic Prosperity Foundation’s and Tampa Bay Economic Council’s plans to address racial inequities and create jobs in economically distressed areas. This transaction was completed in April 2023.
“Feeding Tampa Bay not only addresses food insecurity, but it provides so much more – such as job training, on-site health consulting, and other services for low-income households throughout West Florida. The new facility is a plan for the future. It will bring together all the strengths the organization is known for in a greatly expanded site. FTB will use the power of NMTC financing and its donors to begin a new journey to address some of the root causes of food insecurity. ” – Nelson Black, Chief Lending Officer, Florida Community Loan Fund
Community Profile:
- 27% Poverty Rate
- Income 64% of AMI (area median income)
- Unemployment Rate 1.4x National Average
- Food Desert, Brownfield, FEMA-Designated Disaster Area
Pictured above, architectural rendering of Feeding Tampa Bay's new facility, financed through the New Markets Tax Credit program.