Tropical Nights 2024 a Success!

A huge THANK YOU to every pirate and scallywag who supported our 30th Annual Tropical Nights: A Pirate’s Life event on Saturday, March 23, 2024! We are so grateful for every sponsor, ticket holder, and bidder! With over 350 supporters, the 2024 Tropical Nights was a very successful fundraising event resulting in just under $300,000 being raised in support of our critical mission! 

To view a photo gallery of the best-dressed guests in all of Manatee County, click here.

Our thanks to all our Sponsors and to all our Auction Donors.

Please save the date for our 31st Annual Tropical Nights event on Saturday, March 1, 2025. The theme next year is “Tropical Nights: Under Paris Lights”!

Creativity on Display! 

We are excited to shine the spotlight on our amazing Friendship Dining Center and Daybreak Adult Day Center Clients who lent their creative talents to paint paper hexagon tiles that were transformed into a beautiful art piece that was auctioned at our 2024 Tropical Nights: A Pirate’s Life event on Saturday, March 23, 2024. The piece was a hit in the auction, selling for $900 in support of our amazing programs!

The Survey Says…

One of our Core Values is Innovation and Continuous Improvement. We are proud of the work we do every day and are always looking for ways to improve. Did you know that we regularly survey the clients of all our programs? The valuable feedback we receive helps us to modify our programs to best meet the needs of our clients and their caregivers. In April, we will survey our Home-delivered Meal clients and volunteers to learn more about their direct experience, the things they enjoy, and suggestions they have to improve the caring and compassionate service we provide. 

Last year, an overwhelming majority of the survey respondents said they appreciate their meal delivery service, they love receiving fresh produce, and their furry companions are happy with the pet food service we provide! You can read more about our Mission, Vision and Values by clicking here.

Friendship Dining Center Gets Jazzy

Community Spotlight

Thank you to our 2024 Tropical Nights Event Sponsors & Auction Donors!

Special Thanks to our 2024 Tropical Nights Auction Donors

20 Minutes To Fitness LWR, LLC

941 Luxury Limousines

ABC-7 / WWSB-TV

Altitude Trampoline Park

Anna Maria Island Privateers

Asolo Repertory Theatre

Atria Café LWR

Bark Box

Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More

Birdsong Metal & Stone Handcrafted Jewelry

Kathleen Bitting

Bok Tower Gardens

Bradenton Marauders

Butterfly World

Café L’Europe

Central Café

Chef Mike & Sarasota Executive Catering

Chick-fil-A Cortez Plaza

Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Columbia Restaurant/1905 Family of Restaurants

Conaway Golf Performance

Cool Today

Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurants

Detwiler’s Farm Market

Discover Sarasota Tours

Dunkin’ Donuts

Don Dunnington

Epic Home Decor

Esplanade Lakewood Ranch Residents

Fleet Feet

Florida Studio Theatre

Friends of Meals on Wheels PLUS

Gettel Automotive

Gold Coast Eagle

Greco Dermatology

Grove Restaurant, Patio, Ballroom

Terry Gubbins

Guido Family

Hornback Chiropractic & Wellness, P.A.

JFlo Hair Salon

Kacey’s Seafood & More

Kendra Scott

Kennedy Space Center

Key West Express

Koquina Sand Spa at Esplanade Golf & Country Club

LeBarge Tropical Cruises

Maassen Family

MaeEllenDesigns.com

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Metal Latitude Designs

Molly’s – A Chic and Unique Boutique

MOSI

New Balance of Sarasota and New Balance of University

Norman’s Liquors

O’Bricks Irish Pub & Martini Bar

Painting with A Twist

PDQ

Frank Perry

Pink & Navy Boutique

Bonny Jean Reiff-Smith

River Strand Golf and Country Club

Sarasota Orchestra

Sarasota-Manatee Originals

Shenica Graham

Starbucks Foundation

Sue Steiniger Fox

Sunken Gardens

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Rays

Tanaholics

The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature

The Center For Skin Wellness

The Cheesecake Factory

The Florida Aquarium

The Ringling

The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota

Three Dog Bakery Sarasota/UTC

Total Wine & More

Towery Family

Trader Joe’s

Universal Orlando Resort

Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

Vanessa Fine Jewelry

Wheat + Water Italian Kitchen

Whiskey Joe’s Manatee River

WonderWorks Orlando

ZooTampa at Lowry Park

Volunteer Spotlight: March for Meals Volunteers

The annual March for Meals event commemorates the historic day in March 1972 when President Nixon signed into law a measure that amended the Older Americans Act of 1965 and established a national nutrition program for seniors 60 years and older. This March, Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee and Meals on Wheels programs across the country celebrated more than 50 years of success and gathered to garner the support needed to ensure these critical programs can continue to address food insecurity and malnutrition, combat social isolation, enable independence, and improve health for years to come.

Through their participation, community leaders helped raise awareness for Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee and the the needs of Manatee County seniors. Shown below are some of our 2024 March for Meals Volunteers including: Police Chief Melanie Bevin, Joseph Dunn, Mark Messner, the Honorable Melissa Gould, Mayor Shirley Bryant and aide Penny Johnston, Mayor Gene Brown and Gina Brown, County Commissioner Mike Rahn and aide Derrick Evans, and Councilwoman Lisa Moore. Thank you for your tremendous support!

Donor Spotlight: Lakewood Ranch Rotary Club

Our thanks to Lakewood Ranch Rotary Club for their generous grant that will go toward feeding families this summer, through our Food4Families program. Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee plans to distribute 22,000 meals per week, for nine weeks, through the program.That totals close to 200,000 meals over the summer!

Read more about how the Lakewood Ranch Rotary Club supports Meals on Wheels PLUS and other local nonprofits in a recent Observer story.

Current & Upcoming Events: 

Giving Challenge 2024

April 9-10 | Noon to Noon

Donate to Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee during the 2024 Giving Challenge. All donations will be matched by Sarasota Community Foundation with giving strengthened by Patterson Foundation. The Patterson Foundation will contribute a 1:1 match for unique donations, up to $100 per donor, per nonprofit organization. There is no limit on the number of unique individual matches a nonprofit organization can receive. Please support Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee!

We received late and unexpected notice of the sale of Legacy Golf Course in March, and have not been able to successfully secure a new location to host the 2nd Annual Drive Away Hunger Golf Classic, originally scheduled for May 4, 2024.

As a result our Golf Classic has been postponed until 2025. We will update you with more details as soon as we have them and look forward to seeing you on the course next year!

Food Distribution Programs |April 2024

If you are a senior needing meals delivered to your home, we can help! Our Home-delivered Meal program is available to Manatee County residents.

The Food Bank of Manatee, a PLUS program of Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, provides non-perishable food items to local food pantries and soup kitchens.

Our Mobile Produce Pantry will be out and about in the community providing fresh and nutritious produce free of charge.