What is Sarasota’s Season of Sharing and how can you help?
25 years of neighbors helping neighbors through emergencies in Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto and Charlotte counties.
- Sarasota area residents are facing a widespread food emergency due to soaring grocery prices and other economic pressures.
- Federal and state budget cuts to food aid, Medicaid, and child care programs are expected to worsen the crisis for many families.
- The Season of Sharing campaign, now in its 26th year, provides emergency funds for housing, utilities, child care, and transportation.
- Local food banks are seeing a significant increase in residents seeking assistance, many for the first time.
Despite dodging a repeat of last year’s destructive hurricanes, Sarasota area residents are facing a different kind of crisis ahead of this fall’s Season of Sharing campaign: a widespread food emergency.
Local caseworkers report that soaring grocery prices have been pummeling households and compounding numerous pressures – from high rents and child care costs to soaring homeowners’ insurance bills.
Even before families feel the full impact of federal budget cuts to food aid and Medicaid, as well as state cuts to child care programs, thousands of residents have been flocking to local food banks the past several months – a step that many have never had to take before.
Experts expect those numbers to grow exponentially as the Trump administration blocks contingency food assistance from going out in November over the government shutdown. That halt in what’s known as SNAP assistance could impact more than 3 million Floridians.
Living and working at the breaking point, many families already are one medical event or blown tire away from losing the roofs over their heads, case managers say.
“I would almost call it the perfect storm without having a storm,” said Jen Martin, community impact manager with United Way Charlotte County.
“(There are) budget cuts in every direction and increases in every direction,” Martin said.
“It’s kind of like not one storm but a lot of storms.”
Season of Sharing will be there
Once again, Season of Sharing will be there there for residents, organizers say.
Heading into its 26th year, Season of Sharing – created by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County in partnership with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune – has raised about $50 million since 2000, helping more than 57,000 households.
Working through a large network of local partner nonprofits, Season of Sharing donations go entirely to assist residents experiencing a crisis in Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto and Charlotte counties.
Funds cover a housing, utility, child care or transportation expense.
Last year, in the wake of three consecutive catastrophic storms, donors gave an astounding $7.2 million to help their neighbors. It was the highest amount raised in Season of Sharing’s history – surpassing by $3 million the prior milestone set three years before.
While about half of those contributions came from several area philanthropists and foundations, the remaining poured in from ordinary residents – the average gift less than $100, according to the Community Foundation.
Now, as the annual fundraising campaign kicks off this year – running to Jan. 31 – thousands of households continue to struggle with lingering effects of previous hurricanes, said Kirsten Russell, the foundation’s vice president of community impact.
What’s more, this year residents face escalating home insurance costs and reduced hours and earnings in the hospitality and retail sectors, she added.
On top of that, thousands are whipsawed by shrinking federal and state programs and skyrocketing food and utility expenses.
“These are the teachers at your child’s school, the servers at your favorite restaurant, the technicians who keep your car running,” Russell said.
She added that these affected residents are “hardworking people who suddenly find themselves struggling to make ends meet.”
More residents seeking assistance
And those struggles are pushing them to flood local food lines, said Nelle Miller, president and CEO of All Faiths Food Bank.
At its 800 monthly distribution opportunities across Sarasota and DeSoto counties, All Faiths is now serving between 85,000 and 90,000 people a year – up from about 65,000 a year ago, Miller said.
That represents an increase of 20% in Sarasota County and about 50% in DeSoto County, she said.
At the same time, retail donations have remained stable but flat while contributions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, have all but disappeared, Miller said.
“Looking at the need, we are going to have to meet the increase by purchasing . . . food,” she added.
Simultaneously, apart from the anticipated delay in SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, more and more Floridians are expected to lose their food assistance all together due to federal budget cuts and changes in eligibility requirements.
Meanwhile, food prices have skyrocketed this year. Some grocery bills for families with kids have been reaching $1,000 a month, according to area caseworkers.
Already strapped by high rents, homeowners’ insurance and utility bills, everyone from working parents to seniors is reaching out for help for the first time.
“It is astounding what we see in the lines,” Miller said.
“I think the most profound moments are when someone who has never had to go into a food bank pulls into the car line and looks at you and says, ‘I’ve never had to do this before’ in tears,” Miller said.
“It’s humiliating for people. . . . To ask for food (is) a really hard thing.”
Miller added that the current crisis is not “affecting one particular group or another. It hits everybody.”
Homeowners increasingly vulnerable
Given the overlapping crises, the majority of people applying for Season of Sharing this year are also first-timers, said Chris Russi, community fiscal agent at the Caring Collective, formerly the Glasser-Schoenbaum Human Services Center.
“What this shows you is how big the need is out there,” Russi said.
She added that among the first-time applicants are a growing number of homeowners and two-headed households. “Typically, that was a fairly stable group,” Russi said. “This group appears to be more vulnerable than what is typical.”
Many are still paying out of pocket for damage done from last year’s storms.
Others are reeling from spikes in homeowner’s insurance and utility costs.
“Just saying you have to do better with your budget is not fair to the family,” Russi said.
A lot of families are also impacted by reductions in employment hours and increased layoffs, forcing them to pick up temporary work with Door Dash and Instacart while between jobs, she added.
“That seems to be more extreme this year than before,” Russi said.
Financial crises can quickly occur
Even before last year’s storms and this year’s spike in food prices, local families were struggling with high costs of housing and child care.
According to the United Way Suncoast’s recent report on households called ALICE – or Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – the survival budget for a family of four in Sarasota County has climbed to $104,000.
Also, a study on affordable housing that was commissioned by the Community Foundation and other funders – and released this past spring – discovered that out of the 10 most common occupations in Sarasota County, only two pay a median wage high enough for people to afford a two-bedroom rental unit.
Translation: many of the county’s most essential workers – construction laborers, home health aides, child care providers and more – earn wages that classify them as low-income, the foundation noted.
That means that the slightest of setbacks in the form of unexpected vehicle repairs, a minor health scare or a child home sick from school can plunge families into financial crisis, the foundation and area caseworkers relay.
The approaching storm
Seniors on fixed incomes are also feeling the compounding crises of rising costs, said Jodel Velarde, marketing and communications manager for Senior Friendship Centers.
Separate and growing trends they face are the increasing numbers of adult children being laid off or having their hours cut back. Those adult children are moving in with senior parents, along with their young kids.
In many cases, this situation forces senior resident back to work. But they struggle to keep up with the demands of their jobs due to health and mobility issues, Velarde said.
Others don’t even have that option.
“Sometimes they have to work and can’t work because they have to care for their spouses or their grandchildren,” Velarde said. “Caregiving duties is a really big trend.”
“There are a lot of first-time clients this year because of these issues.”
Older homeowners are also grappling with aging homes and the need to make them safe. However, the price tags for these repairs and upgrades often run outside their limited budgets.
“(They) can’t afford those things,” Velarde said regarding older homeowners.
But they also can’t afford to sell their homes and buy or rent something else in the area.
“It’s like a domino effect,” Velarde said.
For Russi at the Caring Collective and many area case managers, the challenges before both seniors and families will likely explode in the next year with cuts and changes to Medicaid and proposed cutbacks to the Affordable Care Act expected to impact millions of Floridians.
“There is a lot of concern and anxiety out there over what this is going to look like,” Russi said.
“We know it’s coming. We just don’t know how big of an issue it’s going to be.”
Our community shows up
No matter what happens, local residents will continue to look out for one another, said Debra Jacobs, president and CEO of The Patterson Foundation.
As it has through Season of Sharing’s history, The Patterson Foundation is providing a match of $100,000 for every $500,000 raised by the community through the end of the campaign
“Season of Sharing reflects the best of our community, as generous givers come together each year to restore dignity and hope to their neighbors,” Jacobs said.
“The Patterson Foundation’s support catalyzes giving throughout Season of Sharing, expanding what’s possible for individuals and families in our region.”
Jacobs added that “we know that helpers help and givers give. And now it’s everyone’s opportunity to think beyond themselves.”
For P.J. Brooks, chief operations officer at CASL, or Community Assisted Supported Living, it’s a generosity he sees play out over and over: local residents step forward to help resilient families in need of a hand.
“That is reflective of what we have in this community,” Brooks said.
“(We) have a lot of struggles that are happening at the state and federal level. But when we get to the local level, we are about our people – and it shows up.”
Brooks added: “This is our community, and it is reflected in how our community is trying to work together and be supportive of each other. It fills me with pride.”
How to help
Season of Sharing, a program administered by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, assists individuals and families in an emergency with rent, mortgage, transportation, utility and child care expenses in Sarasota, Manatee, DeSoto and Charlotte counties.
You can donate to Season of Sharing by going to cfsarasota.org or calling 941-556-2399.
You can also mail a check to Season of Sharing, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, 2635 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, FL 34237.
This story comes from a partnership between the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and the Community Foundation of Sarasota County. Saundra Amrhein covers the Season of Sharing campaign, along with issues surrounding housing, utilities, child care and transportation in the area. She can be reached at samrhein@gannett.com.
Alice J. Roden started working for Trending Insurance News at the end of 2021. Alice grew up in Salt Lake City, UT. A writer with a vast insurance industry background Alice has help with several of the biggest insurance companies. Before joining Trending Insurance News, Alice briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers home, renters and other property insurance stories.