Helping Those Who Help the Hungry

With an economy perched on the precipice for the past few years, the need to feed the poor seems greater than ever.

But where do those fighting poverty on the front lines in Tampa turn to for help? Many food pantries have looked to 5 And 2, a non-profit ministry that provides aid to local organizations.

The name is based on the New Testament miracle of multiplications, according to Scott Burmeister, a pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church on Hutchison Road, and the organization's chairman and CEO. Five loaves of bread and two fish fed thousands who were gathered and were hungry, Burmeister said of the miracle, which his organization hopes to emulate.

“Our mission is to humanize those in need through food,” Burmeister said. “We seek to empower organizations who help feed those in need by building food pantries.”

According to Burmeister, organizations that want to run a food pantry just need to provide the space and volunteers. 5 And 2 will build the pantry, help provide food and also find clients. Of the 20 organizations that 5 and 2 has assisted with, about 15 are pantries that they have started. One of those is located in Carrollwood at the Village Presbyterian Church, which now has a self-sustaining pantry.

In addition, Burmeister said, 5 And 2 helps “strengthen” existing pantries. 

“We will get you hooked up with organizations like Feeding America,” he said, which provides food for only 18 cents per pound. About 250,000 pounds of food were distributed last year, Burmeister said, and 20 organizations were aided. One of those organizations is Liberty Manor, which helps veterans.

“A lot of vets come through with no means, but through 5 And 2, we got water, soda, bread, meat, anything,” said John Turner, who was a homeless veteran before he served as Liberty Manor’s volunteer director. Now, he volunteers with 5 And 2.

“Liberty Manor takes in so many guys with no income, no jobs, no pension," he said. "Just off the street, they come with nothing. No resources.”

The veterans organization runs four houses for veterans — three in Hillsborough County and one in Largo. Existing funding covered the “bare minimum” of rent, Turner said. However, 5 And 2 provided Liberty Manor with between $600 and $800 worth of food a month.

“At 18 cents a pound, you can load up quite a lot of pickup trucks with that,” Turner said. "It’s been a tremendous help. Before, you didn’t know where your next meal would come from. With 5 and 2 there was an unlimited supply of food. It’s night and day.”

John Kileen’s Amazing Love ministry in Ybor City has also benefited from 5 And 2.

“It’s been a great help,” he said. “We are a very small ministry that’s all volunteer and not associated with any church.”

Still, Amazing Love feeds 200 to 250 people each Monday, as well as about 40 to 60 on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Last year, 5 And 2 started providing funding for Kileen to purchase food through Feed America, as well as provide groceries to 120 people a week, the majority of those, he said, are not homeless.

“With the economy the way it is, a lot of people are in need of food,” Kileen said. 

Tampa had a poverty rate of just over 19 percent in 2009, according to citydata.com. That’s about 5 percent above the state average, a figure that has not changed significantly since 1999, when the US Census Bureau stated that 18 percent of Tampa’s population lived below the poverty level.

However, both Kileen and Turner said things haven’t been going well for those in the most need.

“The homeless problem here over the past two years has gotten worse,” said Kileen.

Added Turner: “The need is going to get greater. People are standing in line for hours. Housing is overwhelmed. There are more people on the street than there are beds.”

Burmeister said the group feeds about 1,000 people per week.

"That’s not even close to meeting the need that’s out there," he said. "We are in need of food now.”

For more information and how to help, visit www.5and2online.com. If you want to volunteer for 5 and 2, email Burmeister at sburmeister@messiahtampa.com.

Donations can be sent to: Five And Two, 14920 Hutchinson Rd., Tampa, FL 33625.