By Pauline Derry
On July 10, Hillsborough County’s Healthy Living Program partnered with Feeding Tampa Bay to put on a food pantry drive-through where residents of the county received free groceries at the SouthShore Community Resource Center.
The Healthy Living Program is part of the Hillsborough County Health Care Plan, which offers affordable medical care to those who cannot afford traditional medical insurance.
There are community resource centers in SouthShore, Lee Davis and Plant City, which all alternate in hosting a food pantry event every month in partnership with Feeding Tampa Bay, which has been supporting the program since its doors opened in 2018.
The recent food pantry events have been drive-throughs to accommodate the CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19, but the upcoming ones will be walk-throughs where you will be able to get out of your car to receive a box or bag full of groceries.
Each community resource center is open to all residents of Hillsborough County and helps people achieve a healthy lifestyle through local, on-site services. Each resource center offers an exercise room, educational activities, group exercise sessions, nutritional counseling and health screenings.
The educational classes are offered in person or virtually and vary from learning how to eat healthy to learning about diabetes prevention.
“My Healthy Living team rocks. We are so passionate about what we do and are always excited to help everyone,” said Paulett Davis, Healthy Living manager. “It is a privilege to do what we do.”
The only criteria to join the program and obtain all the amenities stated above is to be a resident of Hillsborough County.
To get involved in the program, you can volunteer with Feeding Tampa Bay to help at a food pantry event near you.
For more information on the Healthy Living Program, visit www.hillsboroughcounty.org and view the calendar, where you will find upcoming food pantry events, or call the hotline number at 272-5040 and choose option 7.
