Dunedin 11
Beacon, May 2017
Bagpipe
master
Stuart Lidell, a world
renowned Scottish bagpipe
performer, holds a recital at
the Scottish Arts Foundation
hall at 1134 Douglas Avenue
March 31. He has won many
awards in solo piping and
three World Pipe Band
Championship titles.
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DUNEDIN CARES, from page 10
“It was really impersonal: ‘Here’s your bag,
we’ll see you in 30 days,’” he said.
“We were basing it off what other food
pantries did,” Mackin added.
“We’d heard about a different model in New
York that utilized a supermarket approach,”
Hughes added, “where they would use a cart
and shop the aisles as in a grocery store, and
we decided to go for it and it’s working really
well. It gives them a sense of being able to pick
out what they want.”
Based on the numbers, which the former
corporate world vets track extensively, the
move has helped Dunedin Cares greatly expand its outreach in a short amount of time.
“Last year, 430 new people registered, and
we served 1,705 individuals and 3,985 families
at an average of 291 pounds per family, and
based on the numbers, we’re definitely growing,” Mackin said, noting that since 2016 was
their first full year in operation, the organization just now is being able to make year-toyear comparisons.
“The feedback we’ve received has been
tremendous,” Hughes added.
Mackin and Hughes are also quick to point
to the support of the community for the organization’s success.
“The city told us we needed to go out and
prove ourselves, and since we have, they’ve
been behind us 100 percent and we’re starting
to become very well known in the community,”
Mackin said. “Most of our food comes from individuals and churches, civic groups like the
Boys and Girl Scouts and the Rotary Club, the
Chamber of Commerce, and schools.
Tampa Bay Newspapers, Inc.
“We’ve had 6,000 pounds of food donated
from local schools, including 2,000 pounds
from the Dunedin High School Junior ROTC
program,” Hughes added. “Plus, we have the
most cooperative board I’ve ever worked on.
Everyone has a voice, everyone has input and
everyone cooperates and volunteers at the food
drives. It’s definitely one of our strengths.”
With Dunedin Cares unquestionably growing, the obvious question is, how long before
they outgrow the cozy confines of the back
room of the church?
While they admit they have begun to look
ahead, for now Hughes and Mackin are remaining focused on their top priority: helping
those in need through the pantry as well as
their creative fundraising efforts, including
their creative canned food drives.
“I think we’ll be staying here for at least another year, maybe two, unless something else
comes along,” Hughes said.
“Like someone says, ‘hey, you can have this
house,’” Mackin said, half joking
“You have to run it like a business, but at
the same time, you have to have compassion
and heart,” Hughes said.
“Our main purpose is actually to close the
food bank because there’s no need for people
to receive food,” Mackin added. “But we all
know that’s probably never going to happen,
and I think our pantry is going to continue to
grow because of word of mouth. People always
say this is the best food pantry they’ve ever
been to, and we’re happy with that.”
For more information on Dunedin Cares, including food drive dates and locations and
what donation items they are looking for, visit
dunedincares.org.
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