Diane Toto: The Voice of the Voiceless and Founder of We Care Food Pantry

Diane Toto was inspired to pursue her career of service due to a calling from God and has served as the president and founder of We Care Food Pantry in Homosassa, Florida since 2002. The mission of We Care Food Pantry is to support neighbors in need in any and every way possible. In Citrus County, a large sector of the people the organization serves have full-time employment but do not earn enough to take care of their family’s basic needs. We Care Food Pantry fills those voids by meeting with clients, discussing the struggles they are facing and coming up with a plan to offer support and aid. The organization sends out trucks to recover food from grocery stores throughout the area three days a week, and collects laundry detergents, cleaning supplies and hygiene products to redistribute to the community.

Ms. Toto was a property manager in New York. She used her skills to secure a workspace, then bought land from a friend. She now has nearly 20 years of experience serving underserved communities in Florida and is renowned for having built the largest food distribution warehouse complex in Citrus County. Known as “the voice of the voiceless” by local newspapers, Ms. Toto plans to use her voice and privilege until she reaches her retirement.

Ms. Toto was named a Tampa Bay Lightning Community Hero in 2018, which came with $50,000 to use toward the We Care Food Pantry. She calls this achievement the highlight of her career. She is also a member of her local Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Toto has many more ideas for the nonprofit, including acquiring a food truck to serve hot meals and ways for people to sign up for food stamps or Medicaid. She has put a succession plan in place for the nonprofit organization to continue to run successfully and feed the hungry long after she is gone.