Talking Points
Out in the community? Not sure what to say? Use these helpful talking points below.
Manatee County has a serious food insecurity crisis:
- Hunger is everywhere — in houses you would never imagine. You could be doing well but then have a setback or a medical crisis: this issue can hit anywhere.
- Food insecurity is a crisis affecting almost 14% of our neighbors — working families, retirees, children, and business owners — across Manatee County.
- It's not just about emergency needs; it's about a lack of access to affordable, nutritious food.
- There are so many tradeoffs between rent and groceries, or medical bills and meals, or many of the other household essentials.
- This issue deeply impacts working families, who can fall just outside the safety net but still struggle to feed their families.
There are solutions. Three we are focused on:
- Targeting the root causes of hunger — like access, cost, and transportation.
- Getting food to where it's needed — with mobile food hubs, culturally appropriate selections, and neighborhood-driven models like discount groceries.
- Elevating community leadership — so solutions can be designed by those who live with food insecurity.
How the Manatee Food Security Network can make a difference:
- The Network is shifting to new ways to get food to those who need it. Our Cooperative Distribution work group has shared more than 300,000 pounds of food in 2026 alone that would have been wasted otherwise.
- By uniting 75+ organizations — from large nonprofits to grassroots community groups — we're collaborating to turn shared knowledge into long-term change.
- We're ensuring that community voices drive the work from day one — so the Network grows with, not just for, the people it serves.