ISLAND LIFESTYLES

Publix challenges public to donate goods for Harry Chapin Food Bank


Calling all grocery shoppers - specially those who shop on Sundays!

On Sunday, Sep. 20, Lee County Transit (LeeTran) is deploying its fleet of buses to 32 Publix locations throughout Lee County to collect food for the Harry Chapin Food Bank.

LeeTran buses will park in the Publix parking lots from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for shoppers to fill bins with nonperishable food. At 4 p.m., the buses will caravan to the Harry Chapin Food Bank's Fowler Street warehouse, where volunteers will unload the donations.

The Publix locations participating in the Sep. 20 event range from Del Tura in North Fort Myers down to Bonita Beach Road, and Camelot Isles in Cape Coral to Homestead Plaza in Lehigh Acres.

LeeTran drivers and other employees are volunteering their day's labor to serve the community.

"The community has already been very generous in the fight against hunger, but with so many extra feeding stations open during the summer, we think the pantries may need restocking again," said Transit Director Steve Myers. "By asking shoppers to purchase one or two extra food items for donation, we think we can do a great deal of good."

More than 20,000 people each month rely on the Harry Chapin Food Bank for groceries through its participating 170 nonprofit agencies. The food bank has seen an 82 percent need increase over the past two years.

Harry Chapin Food Bank Associate Director Joyce Jacobs noted that the food bank is hoping for the same outpouring of support that they experienced in the Letter Carriers Food Drive in May.

Additional information about or to contribute financially to the Harry Chapin Food Bank, contact 239-334-7007 or go to harrychapinfoodbank.org.