Root and Nourish

The safety net is changing. The gaps are growing. And we are not looking away.

You have likely heard about the historic cuts to SNAP, the largest in the program's history. What you may not know is that TEFAP, the federal program that supplies food banks and pantries with USDA commodities, lost $500 million in funding in 2025 alone.

Food orders were canceled. Truckloads of food that families and distribution centers were counting on never arrived. And now, as of 2026, the Trump administration recommended that states require citizenship verification for people accessing food distributed through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).

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Root and Nourish exists to reach into the spaces that larger systems cannot always fill.

We receive no government funding. We deliver essential items directly to struggling families in the Pensacola area: food, infant and ADULT diapers, feminine hygiene supplies, vitamins, and nutritional supplements like PediaSure. The things a mother needs at 2am. ​The things that don't show up on an EBT card. The things that make the difference between a family that is barely surviving and one that has just enough stability to begin dreaming again.

We believe that nourishing a family today is an investment in what they will build tomorrow.

Build a Dream stands firmly behind ​​​Our Community Partners. We believe in strengthening the hands that are already doing the work:

​Little Flower Catholic Church St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mission Food Pantry 6495 Lillian Hwy, Pensacola · 850-455-4851 Wednesdays & Fridays · 9 AM–Noon

St. Anne Catholic Church Bellview St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry 5200 Saufley Field Rd, Pensacola · 850-457-3833 Tuesdays & Thursdays · 10 AM–Noon · By appointment​

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*NOTE* We are launching a pilot program that aims to assist with transportation to food banks, grocery stores, and laundry mats. Because what good is a list of food pantries if a family has no access to them? There is a real need for affordable transportation in our beloved Pensacola, and we want to help fix that. If you are interested in learning more, contact diana@buildadreamfoundation.org. ​Build a Dream is not able to help with rent or utilities.

​​We'd like to understand a little more about what’s going on so we can respond thoughtfully. When you have a moment, please walk through the questions below. Your answers are 100% confidential.