Mainsail Lodging & Development Selects Feeding America Tampa Bay as Corporate Charity Partner

TAMPA, Fla. (September 25, 2014) – Mainsail Lodging & Development has selected Feeding America Tampa Bay as their official corporate charity. Mainsail Lodging, which has 400 employees, will partner with Feeding America Tampa Bay in a variety of initiatives, including a holiday food drive, participation in the Annual Fork Fight Gala and participation in programs such as “Where Love Grows” that encourage and educate youth on healthy eating habits. Mainsail Lodging will also create opportunities for visiting meeting groups to perform volunteer activities to impact the local community. To kick off the new partnership, Mainsail Lodging and Feeding America Tampa Bay are planning Tampa’s Top Chef Pumpkin Fight, a pumpkin carving contest between the area’s top chefs, with all proceeds benefitting Feeding America Tampa Bay.

“This is a natural partnership between Mainsail Lodging and Feeding America Tampa Bay, especially with our newest property, the culinary-themed Epicurean Hotel,” said Joe Collier, Mainsail Lodging & Development president. “We look forward to supporting their mission year-round with our staff, guests and area residents.”

Founded in 1982, Feeding America Tampa Bay is the largest food rescue and distribution organization in the community, serving a food-insecure population of more than 700,000 people in a 10-county area. Feeding America Tampa Bay recovers surplus food donations from local growers, manufacturers, supermarkets and organized community food drives and distributes it to those in need through a partnership network of more than 600 faith-based and other incorporated non-profit hunger relief organizations. Over the last five years, Feeding America Tampa Bay has supplied more than 100 million pounds of food – enough to provide more than 3 million meals every month to those who would otherwise go hungry.

“Our corporate partners are the backbone of the organization,” said Thomas Mantz, executive director of Feeding America Tampa Bay. “We’re ecstatic about working with Mainsail Lodging, in particular, because they bring so many things to the table, including an incredible product and reputation, as well as creativity and enthusiasm.”

For more information on Mainsail Lodging and Development, visit www.MainsailHotels.com. For more information on Feeding America Tampa Bay, visit www.FeedingAmericaTampaBay.org

MEDIA CONTACT: Kelly Prieto, APR

Hayworth Public Relations

(813) 318-9611 / [email protected]

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About Mainsail Lodging and Development Group
Mainsail Lodging and Development is a Tampa-based hospitality company that develops and operates lodging products in the Southeastern US and the Caribbean. Their properties include Scrub Island Resort, Spa & Marina (ScrubIsland.com), a private island resort in the British Virgin Islands and member of Autograph Collection® of Marriott International; Mainsail Beach Inn (MainsailBeachInn.com), a boutique beachfront hotel and marina on Anna Maria Island, Florida; Mainsail Tampa Extended Stay and Mainsail Conference & Event Center (MainsailTampa.com) in Tampa, Florida; Mainsail South, a 328-unit apartment and corporate housing complex in South Tampa; and Mainsail Apartment Homes, a 360-unit apartment community in Tampa’s Westshore district. The company also operates corporate housing throughout the Southeast, exclusively managing the Florida market for Oakwood Worldwide® under both its ExecuStay® (ExecuStay.com) and Oakwood® (Oakwood.com) brands, while also operating ExecuStay (ExecuStay.com) in Georgia, portions of Alabama, and The Carolinas. Opened in December 2013 in Tampa, Florida, the boutique food-focused Epicurean Hotel (EpicureanHotel.com) was created in collaboration with the legendary Bern’s Steak House and is the first newly constructed property in the United States to join the Autograph Collection®.