Daystar Life Center INC

About the Organization

Organization category

Other

Country / State

United States / Florida

Mission

Daystar Life fights hunger, poverty, and hopelessness by providing the necessities of life to our neighbors in need. We engage, educate, and empower our community by promoting the value of nutrition, wellness, and financial literacy."

Programs or services

Food Insecurity, Basic Needs Pantry, Financial Assistance, Financial Coaching, Nutrition Education, Urban Farming, secure mail service, resource room

Detailed programs

Basic Needs & Food Security
Client Choice Food Pantry allowing families to select foods that best meet their dietary, cultural, and household needs
Fresh produce, dairy, meat, eggs, frozen foods, and pantry staples
Senior Wellness Pantry with foods tailored to older adults
Children's Little Bites Snack Station offering healthy, kid friendly snacks
Mobile and remote pantry ordering for individuals with transportation or mobility barriers
Saturday pantry service and extended weekday access
Edible Garden & Nutrition
On site edible garden producing thousands of pounds of fresh produce annually
Registered Dietitian providing nutrition counseling and healthy eating education
Cooking demonstrations using affordable ingredients
Gardening education focused on growing food at home
Seedling distribution and seasonal growing workshops
Nutrition education integrated throughout pantry services
Children's Nutrition & Education
Daystar Kids EAT garden and cooking program
Little Bites of Hope preschool nutrition education
Seedlings to Neighbors youth leadership and gardening program
Family cooking experiences
Hands on nutrition and wellness education
Financial Stability
Utility assistance
Rental assistance and eviction prevention
Financial coaching
Budgeting education
Credit education
Financial literacy workshops
Benefits screening and enrollment assistance
Employment readiness referrals
Savings and financial goal coaching
Resource Navigation
Community resource navigation
SNAP application assistance
Medicaid and Medicare referrals
Veteran benefit navigation
Identification document assistance
Transportation referrals
Referrals to legal aid, healthcare, housing, employment, and other community resources
Health & Wellness
On site BayCare nurse services
Blood pressure and wellness screenings
Nutrition consultations
Chronic disease prevention education
Health insurance navigation through community partners
Veterans Services
Dedicated Veterans Pantry
VA benefit navigation
Veteran specific financial assistance
Stand Down participation
Connection to housing and supportive veteran services
Housing Stability
Eviction prevention
Landlord coordination
Housing resource referrals
Bridge to Stability navigation program
Financial coaching designed to promote long term housing stability
Community Engagement
Volunteer opportunities for individuals and corporate groups
Community tours
Service learning experiences
Corporate engagement projects
Faith community partnerships
Community education presentations
Seasonal & Special Programs
Holiday meal distributions
Back to school support
Emergency disaster response
Hurricane recovery assistance
Special food distributions
Community outreach events
Education & Empowerment
Daystar Academy workshops
Nutrition education
Financial education
Homeownership education
Healthy lifestyle education
Resource fairs
Community partner workshops

Target Audience

Persons facing crisis due to food insecurity or financial instability

Geographic Focus

United States, Florida (USA), Pinellas County (FL), Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace (FL), Clearwater (FL), Dunedin (FL), Gulfport (FL), Indian Rocks Beach (FL), Indian Shores (FL), Kenneth City (FL), Largo (FL), Madeira Beach (FL), North Redington Beach (FL), Oldsmar (FL), Pinellas Park (FL), Redington Beach (FL), Redington Shores (FL), Safety Harbor (FL), Seminole (FL), South Pasadena (FL), St. Pete Beach (FL), St. Petersburg (FL), Tarpon Springs (FL), Treasure Island (FL)

Current projects

Daystar is currently seeking to expand our agricultural space, provide an outreach satellite in North St. Pete and North County, expand financial coaching services, and improve and expand our fresh pantry offerings.

Organization goals

Expand Daystar's role as a Community Connection Center, providing coordinated access to food, financial stability, health resources, and community services through one trusted location.
Increase long term household stability by strengthening financial coaching, benefits enrollment, employment support, and resource navigation.
Expand edible garden production to provide significantly more fresh produce while serving as a community education hub.
Increase volunteer and corporate engagement to build sustainable community investment and expand organizational capacity.
Secure diversified funding that strengthens financial sustainability and reduces reliance on any single revenue source.
Enhance data systems to better measure outcomes, demonstrate impact to funders, and improve the client experience.
Expand partnerships with healthcare providers, schools, businesses, faith communities, and government agencies to address the social drivers of health.
Evaluate opportunities to extend services into underserved areas of Pinellas County while maintaining strong service quality.

Leadership

Heide Cornell, Executive Director; Toby McDuffie, President of the Board of Directors; Alyson Voit, Business Manager

Funding Needs

Grant categories you're seeking

Aging and Seniors, Capital Funding, Community Services, Faith Based, Farming and Agriculture, Financial Assistance, Homeless, In-Kind Support, Nutrition and Food, Operating Support, Veterans and Military, Women

Funding needs

Emergency Financial Assistance: Expand funding for rent and utility assistance to help households avoid eviction, utility shutoffs, and homelessness as housing costs continue to outpace wages.
Food Security: Increase capacity to purchase nutritious, high demand foods such as fresh produce, protein, dairy, and eggs to meet rising demand while offsetting fluctuations in donated food.
Community Resource Navigation: Invest in staff capacity to connect clients with public benefits, employment resources, financial coaching, and healthcare, allowing Daystar to move beyond crisis response toward long term stability.
Children's Nutrition & Garden Education: Expand youth nutrition education, hands on cooking, and garden programming that helps children develop healthy habits and food literacy.
Edible Garden Expansion: Grow more fresh produce on site while increasing volunteer engagement, nutrition education, and environmental sustainability.
Technology & Client Access: Improve technology that streamlines intake, reduces duplicate data entry, enhances outcome tracking, and makes services easier for clients to access.

Website & Social Media