St. Clement Catholic Church, located at 1104 N. Alexander St. in Plant City, offers a weekly food pantry known as My Brother’s Keeper Food Pantry. Its mission is to help feed the needy of the area in Hillsborough County and surrounding the Plant City area.
The food pantry is open every Friday (except the first Friday of each month). The regular hours are 7-11 a.m.; in the winter months, the food pantry is open from 8 a.m.-12 Noon.
Pat Haggard is the volunteer director of the food pantry and thrift store. She has been with the church of 15 years. St. Clement Catholic Church has been offering the food pantry for over 40 years.
According to Haggard, “We serve all of Hillsborough County. This includes the homeless, register guests and many migrant workers,” Haggard added, “We do not require any documentation in order to receive service from our food pantry. Those in need simply fill out a form from the USDA which asks for name, address, the number in the family and how and why they qualify. There is a checklist for them to choose the response.”
Volunteers pick up donated food on Mondays and Wednesdays. Haggard explained, “We prepare boxes of food on Mondays and Wednesdays. This includes food received from USDA and donated food from the community. We also pick up food from McDonald’s. We are a part of a test program called No Food Goes to Waste.”
The St. Clement Catholic Church Food Pantry has seen an increase in the number of people in need of food aid. It helps an average of 180-200 families each week. Annually, it gives out approximately 200 pallets.
In addition to the food pantry, St. Clement Catholic Church has a thrift store known as the Golden Door Thrift Store, which is a resource for those in need. It offers good-quality used clothing and household items at a low cost. The thrift store is run by volunteers, and all proceeds support the food pantry.
If you would like to help, you can make a monetary donation or donate nonperishable goods such as canned soups, pasta, cereal, beans, rice and peanut butter.
For more information, please visit www.stclementsfoodpantry.com/food-pantry or call 813-767-4105.
