HCA Florida Healthcare donates 300,000+ meals to local food banks across West Florida

TAMPA, FL– During the 2023 holiday season, HCA Florida Healthcare hospitals across the west coast of Florida participated in HCA Healthcare’s Healthy Food for Healthier Tomorrows Food and Nutrition Drive, collecting and donating 6,739 pounds of non-perishable food, contributing over $63,000 and securing $35,000 in grant funding from the HCA Healthcare Foundation’s Healthier Tomorrows Fund to help local nonprofit organizations addressing food insecurity from Citrus Country to Charlotte County. 

 “I’m so proud of how our colleagues show up for our communities,” says Jyric Sims, president of HCA Healthcare’s West Florida Division. “In addition to the compassionate care they provide inside of our facilities, their participation in this year’s food drive has enabled us to make a meaningful difference in addressing food insecurity during a significant time of need.”

Food banks that received a $10,000 contribution from HCA Florida Healthcare include All Faiths Food Bank, Meals on Wheels Plus/Food Bank of Manatee, Feeding Tampa Bay, The Volunteer Way and The Community Food Bank Citrus/ Hernando. The contributions will, in part, help to purchase perishable items such as milk, eggs, fruit and vegetables.

Of the 301,115 meals that were provided to families in need

• 5,615 meals from collected nonperishable food donations
• 190,500 meals from West Florida Division charitable donations
• 75,000 meals from a $25,000 Health Equity Catalyst grant from the HCA Healthcare Foundation’s Healthier Tomorrow Fund
• 30,000 meals from a $10,000 grant awarded to Citrus County Blessings from the HCA Healthcare Foundation, benefitting organization selected by HCA Florida Citrus Hospital, the winner of the West Florida Division’s best food sculpture contest (sculptures were created from food donations collection). 

In 2022, HCA Healthcare’s West Florida Division collected more than 12,700 pounds of food providing for approximately 10,633 meals in communities  along Florida’s West Coast as part of HCA Healthcare’s Healthy Foods for Healthier Tomorrows annual food and nutrition drive.

Pictured: Members of the HCA Florida Citrus Hospital leadership team (from left to right): Tequila Fields, Assistant Administrator; Hiram Jacob, Chief Operating Officer; Lisa Nummi, Chief Executive Officer and Kelley Alves, Executive Assistant dressed as the three little pigs and big bad wolf, pose with the hospital’s winning can food sculpture.