Jose Canes

Members from the State Convention's Committee on Order of Business include: Jose Canes, pastor, Southside Hispana Baptist Church, Sarasota; James R. Davis, pastor, Oakgrove Baptist Church, Wauchula; Linda Gregory, church and community director, Seminole Association, Sanford; Gary E. Laird, pastor, Avalon Baptist Church, Milton; Stan Lewis, associate pastor, Olive Baptist Church, Pensacola; Joe H. Plott, pastor, First Baptist Church, Mary Esther; George A. Price, pastor, St. Matthews Baptist Church, Jacksonville; and John M. Wright, pastor, First Baptist Church, Altamonte Springs.

Rev. Jose Canes, Pastor

KENSINGTON PARK

3308 East 17th Street

Sarasota, FL 34235

Phone # (941) 955-5531

A well-stocked food bank is also critical for people like Pastor Jose Canes, founder of Iglesia Bautista Misionera De Sarasota.This year, the congregation of about 119 people has distributed food to more than 500 Hispanic families.

"Most people whom we provide food to want to be on their own, but most times this help is coming at a crucial time," Canes said."We're able to do this because the food bank is the provider."

Leaders at Great Kids!Inc., which provides subsidized child care for toddlers and children to age 12, say they wouldn't have known how else to cover food bills that sometimes ran as high as $600 a week for breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack at the center on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

Now that the program has partnered with the food bank, milk, fresh fruit, pastries and bread are available at no charge, and meat and frozen foods sell for 14 cents a pound, a fee that helps defray the food bank's operating costs.