Harry Chapin Food Bank and Publix join forces for “Feeding Southwest Florida”

Harry Chapin Food Bank and Publix join forces for “Feeding Southwest Florida”

Harry Chapin Food Bank is partnering with Publix Super Markets in “Feeding Southwest Florida,” a one-day food drive being held Saturday, Feb. 8 in Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties. Residents are invited to shop any of the 62 Publix stores across those three counties from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day to support our mission to lead our community in the fight to end hunger.

Participating is easy. Just go to a Publix store, purchase one or more items, and donate them as you leave to the food bank staff and volunteers set up in the lobby or outside. Any donation of nonperishable food is welcome, but the items most needed are breakfast bars, canned fish or chicken, beans – dry or canned, other canned vegetables, cooking oil, pasta, pasta sauce, tomato sauce, dry milk, jelly, rice, cans of soup and beef stew.

The food will be distributed through food bank programs to help feed the 1 in 8 people, including 1 in 5 children, who may not know where their next meal is coming from. These include the Care and Share: Senior Feeding Program, Harry’s Helpings, In-School Pantries, and Fulfill Mobile Pantries. The food bank also distributes food through its Partner Agency Program, a network of more than 150 partner agencies.

About Harry Chapin Food Bank

Harry Chapin Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, is the largest hunger-relief organization in Southwest Florida. The food bank rescues food that would otherwise go to waste and distributes it to families and others in need through a series of programs that feed 28,000 people a week.

For every dollar donated, the food bank can provide $8 in food value. In fiscal year 2018-19, Harry Chapin Food Bank distributed nearly 26.7 million pounds of

food and other grocery items, including 6.4 million pounds of fresh produce. The food, valued at $42.8 million, is the equivalent of 22.2 million meals for people in need.

Our membership with Feeding America enables us to amplify our food and distribution efforts and bring in food from various retail and grocery stores, national food rescue manufacturers and distributors, as well as local, national and even international growers.

Harry Chapin Food Bank is a United Way partner agency. We are also proud to be named a Blueprint Partner by the Naples Children & Education Foundation, the founding organization of the Naples Winter Wine Festival. For more information or to make a gift, call (239) 334-7007 or visit harrychapinfoodbank.org.