Changing the World One PB&J at a Time

Megan Nikora·November 9, 2017

Before it had an official name (and became a nationwide movement), they were simply called “Feeding Frenzies.”

PB&J for Tampa Bay started as a small group that got together in their spare time and spread salty peanut butter and sweet fruit jam to make a couple hundred sandwiches and then hand-delivered them to those less fortunate in the community.

Mike Abramowitz has been with Vector Marketing since 2004. As a District Manager, he wanted to find a way for himself and his office to give back to something bigger while getting members of the community involved with the Vector culture. So, they launched PB&J for Tampa Bay in February 2015.

“When is the next Feeding Frenzy?” became a popular question around the office.

“After attending a Tony Robbins event and walking across 1,000+ degree hot coals, I had a breakthrough that I was meant to use my business as a force for good.” Mike states. That force began by speaking at schools and offering insights to inspire students to become better versions of themselves and take responsibility for their results in life.

300 hours of speaking and more than 20,000 students later, his perspective has certainly grown.

Not surprisingly, so has his business—with sales increases and development of amazing young leaders. “Raising people in an environment that makes them feel like their work contributes to a higher purpose makes it more attractive and appealing to work in my office,” he says.

And his charity has grown even more. PB&J for Tampa Bay will remain local to the Tampa Bay area while its sister, PB&J for USA, will expand nationally. “The goal is to provide 25,000 meals locally [each year] and expand to 100 locations nationally.” Each month, these locations will host a Feeding Frenzy that will provide 500 meals each time, equating to 600,000 meals each year.

“Even though there are many ideas similar to yours, it’s not yours,” Mike says. “People who believe what you believe will back your movement. Feeding America already exists, but hundreds of people have made sandwiches with PB&J for Tampa Bay, and we’ve now provided 44,000 meals. It takes a small decision, desire to help others, and a few small action steps.”