Good Stuff In TEC: Florida

Program offering discounts on the cost of food is for rich or poor

Gainesville residents have a new option when it comes to saving money on food.

St. Michael's Episcopal Church, on the corner of NW 43rd Street and 23rd Avenue, is now offering a program that allows participants to purchase frozen meats and fresh produce at about half of the normal cost.

SHARE Florida, a nonprofit food cooperative, is in charge of the host site, as well as many others throughout the state.

SHARE sponsors another site in Gainesville at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church downtown.

The entire program in Gainesville is run by volunteers from the community.

Kathy Ratican, site coordinator, said the program is not only for those in need.

"A mistake people often make is that they immediately think it's just for poor people and it's not," Ratican said. "There are no eligibility requirements. You could be a millionaire and come just to save some money."

The economy is one reason why everyone involved thought that this would be a good program to start in Gainesville, Ratican said.

"We decided to do it because we figured this was a really good outreach program for the community right now because of the tight economy," she said. "A lot of families are struggling to make ends meet, so this is a way to help them."