Positive Impact Ministries distributes free groceries every Saturday at Tangerine Plaza in St. Petersburg.
BY GEVERYL ROBINSON | Contributor
ST. PETERSBURG — People need food. You may think that’s a ridiculous comment to make because, of course, people need food. However, what people need in addition to food is access and affordability. For the last few months, I’ve spent my Saturday mornings volunteering with Positive Impact Ministries, helping prepare food boxes.
‘I pick up food for myself and my daughter, who has a family of 8. We’ve been through a lot of trials over the past two years. Karalynne Brubaker has prayed for us; she has become like a sister to me. I love her so much. She and this place is a blessing to us.’ — Jean S.
Every Saturday, I help and watch in awe as other volunteers prepare meals for hundreds of cars that drive up and for the people who walk up to get food. I watch in awe, and then my heart breaks because — people need food.
Receiving free groceries from Positive Impact every week at Tangerine Plaza means a great deal to me. It helps me and my neighbors who don’t have transportation, and it helps with my grocery bill. ‘ John R. Jr.
So far, Positive Impact has provided over 2 million meals. Two million. The irony of all of this is that the place where hundreds of families receive food is in front of a supermarket that has been closed for years.
I don’t know how many of you have ever been hungry to the point of having to go looking for food, but I would venture to say that if things ever got to that point, you’d be grateful to anyone who made that food available at no charge. You’d be grateful that people cared enough to even notice that in an area where the grocery store closed years ago, the people still needed to be served because — people need food.
Now, if I were to ask you to define the word food, I think most would probably use the first definition found in the dictionary: “material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy.” Okay, maybe you wouldn’t use those exact words, but you get my drift.
However, another definition is also appropriate: “something that nourishes, sustains, or supplies.” That “something” does not have to be anything you eat, such as food for thought.
That last definition is what Positive Impact does every Saturday and why it’s imperative that they are allowed to continue providing food at Tangerine Plaza. They aren’t just handing out fresh produce, meats, and snacks. They don’t just supply nourishment for people’s physical bodies.
‘I was incarcerated for 10 ½ months last year. I knew that I needed to turn my life around, or I’d be in prison or dead. Positive Impact is helping me change my life and get back on my feet again. They pray for me and give me food to eat. I’m not sure what I would do without their help. ‘ — Paul M.
‘Positive Impact always goes above and beyond. This past Christmas, they not only provided my family with a Christmas ham but they also ensured that my three-year-old son had gifts under the Christmas tree.’ — Kathleen A.
What Positive Impact does, and has been doing for the last few years, is provide the kind of food that nourishes, sustains, and supplies people with the hope and encouragement that there is someone who cares, there is someone who understands their need at that moment, and there is someone who is there to fulfill it because — people need food.
It’s one thing to say people need food. It’s another to have people who provide the food, in mind, body, and spirit that a community craves. So, anyone considering changing Tangerine Plaza into anything other than a place that nourishes an entire community should think again because — people need food, and Positive Impact Ministries provides it in all its forms.
Earlier this month, Positive Impact Ministries offered to buy Tangerine Plaza for $1.75 million to create a neighborhood market with free food and house a pharmacy.
