About Citrus United Basket

Our History

The Beginning Days: 1977 Dot Zipper, was director-in-charge for family services of Citrus County; the tax base extremely low; county resources were limited; requests for help were overwhelming and she approached County Commissioners who came up with an idea of creating a non-profit to assist people in Citrus County.

Mid/Late1978 - County created first parks and recreation position for Citrus County. John Barnes (from Homosassa) was hired and the County Commissioners decided that one of his first tasks should be in the creation of Citrus United Basket (C.U.B.).

1978 - After bringing together influential people in the county they came up with and established a board, wrote the Articles of Incorporation and obtained our 501(c)3 on December 12th. The very first subscribers to the Articles were Jerry Steed, Charles B. Adkins and Rev. George Dettman of First United Methodist Church of Inverness.

Originally, there were no facilities or structure available for C.U.B. while it accumulated materials and clothing. However, the county did have an old shed located on Cooter Pond near the old Sheriff's office in Inverness, which is where items were stored for C.U.B. on the EAST side of the county.

Rev. Roger Shively, minister of First UMC Homosassa, had a large shed on the church grounds that he designated to store items for C.U.B. on the WEST side of the county.

Food and monetary donations increased and the board realized the need for an inside facility to protect items. The county commissioners authorized using part of the basement in the Old Courthouse. The original system serviced social workers who helped families in need. Social Workers would meet in the Old Courthouse twice a month to discuss needs for their assigned family cases. Then they would walk across the street to Bernie Adkins's office located on Old Square for a check.

CUB's very first volunteer was Ms. Jean McKenzie who had two children.

The first holiday food giveaway was Christmas 1979. The line of recipients formed all the way around the Old Courthouse. Also started by Nola Gravius was the toy giveaway for the children.

CUB continues to serve their mission for the people of Citrus County who find themselves in difficult times.

Please check back for future updates. Please let us know of any additional information that we can add or of any information that needs to be corrected.