Roser Food Pantry, still struggling after hurricanes, in need of donations

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — The Roser Church Food Pantry has been struggling to bounce back following last year’s hurricanes.

The church says it’s the only food pantry on Anna Maria Island.

Over the past year, volunteers say they’ve seen a decrease in donations — but an increase in people needing their services.

Wanda Crummey prides herself on keeping everything inside the food pantry at Roser Church organized. It’s a labor that she loves.

“Helping the neighborhood. Making sure that people have food when they need it,” she said.

But the pantry is experiencing one of its hardest years, still trying to bounce back after getting flooded during Hurricane Helene more than a year ago.

“It was devastating. But the reality was you spent an hour saying, ‘This looks like hell.,’” Crummey said. “And then it’s, ‘What are you going to do to fix it?’ I’m from New Orleans, and this is what you do. You pick it up, you move forward.”

They did fix it up and were able to reopen by the end of October last year — but the problem was the loss of food.

“It was a huge dumpster full, so it was probably going to be about, I’d say, 100 cases of food,” she said.

And now, they aren’t seeing enough food donations, leaving shelves bare.

“One, we’re handing out more. Number two, we don’t have as many tourists on the island right now,” she said.

They attribute that loss of tourism to hurricane season last year. Since then, volunteers and church staff like Charles Wade have worked hard to rebuild what was lost.

“We’re just asking for help. I always say this to people — whatever you give from your heart, we do appreciate it,” he said.

And Crummey’s wish is for people to give if they can, to help others in need.

“I hope we’re able to get some more food in so that we can serve more people on the island,” she said. “Because I believe that we’re going to have more people in need as the year goes on and the cost of living increases.”

It’s a hope that Crummey and the rest of the volunteers and church staff are holding on to so they can continue feeding people on the island who need it.

If you want to donate to the food pantry, you can drop off items at Roser Church in Anna Maria, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The address is 512 Pine Ave.