Two refrigerated cargo vans joined All Faiths Food Bank's fleet Wednesday, fully funded by employees at Sarasota-headquartered Boar's Head Brand who raised more than $100,000 through their annual Circle of Friends giving campaign.
The donation pushed Circle of Friends past $1 million in lifetime giving since the program launched in 2019.
Boar's Head spokesperson Amanda Eyer said the company matches every dollar its employees contribute. Staff didn't stop at writing checks. Employees volunteered 75 hours packing food at the All Faiths warehouse and food pantries, collected more than 2,000 canned goods through an internal "Cantastic Building Competition" and built canned-food sculptures on nights and weekends.
"They poured their time, talents and money into feeding our neighbors," Eyer said in a statement announcing the gift.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, Boar's Head team members Kathy Catena, IT business and events specialist; Tripp Wallace, managing director of IT and security; and Vipul Sharma, management information systems senior manager, helped present the vans to food bank leaders. Colleagues Austin Wolf, a cafe supervisor, and Katie Giura from HR internal communications were photographed loading goods into the vehicles.
The vans will handle food rescues, neighborhood distributions and specialized programs across Sarasota and DeSoto counties, according to the food bank.
New vehicles aim to close a fresh-food delivery gap
All Faiths Food Bank is the only food bank serving Sarasota and DeSoto counties, partnering with more than 300 agencies to distribute millions of meals each year. Demand remains high: 42% of Sarasota County households and 56% of DeSoto County households struggle to afford basic needs including groceries, housing and health care, according to the United Way's 2025 ALICE report.
The food bank says it still needs 800 volunteers to cover roughly 12,000 hours across 60 planned outdoor mobile food distributions running through September.
Nelle S. Miller, president and CEO of All Faiths Food Bank, said the refrigerated vans address a logistics gap. The vehicles will allow the organization to deliver more fresh produce, dairy and protein to children, families, seniors and veterans, she said in a statement.
Corporate campaign has funded local causes since 2019
Each year, Circle of Friends selects a local cause in hunger relief, health care or education. Past recipients have benefited from two sensory rooms for children with disabilities, a 360-degree immersive therapy room for behavioral health patients and 240 cancer screenings for uninsured patients.
Beyond the campaign, Boar's Head donates 2.5 million servings of protein annually to families in need and holds food drives supporting local Feeding America food banks at each of its store locations.
Food bank still recruiting volunteers for summer distributions
Residents who want to volunteer or donate can reach All Faiths Food Bank at allfaithsfoodbank.org or by calling 941-379-6333.
