Friday, June 4, 2021
Last month, your food bank distributed a total of 4,610,343 pounds of food throughout our five-county footprint. It is simply incredible to know that this much food is needed to help feed those who are hungry in our community.
We celebrate the fact that after over an entire year of managing the Coronavirus pandemic, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the medical crisis as more vaccines become available and we gain experience and insight on how to better treat the virus. However, we must not forget that for many, the economic crisis will linger much longer, and with it, the threat of hunger remains a very real concern as the economy begins to slowly recover. As we enter the summer months, our region experiences additional hardships as schools have let out and many industries scale back their workforce during the off-season.
For parents like Mariana and Alejandro who live in Immokalee, the food bank is a much-needed lifeline. Despite being fully employed, Mariana and Alejandro still struggle to provide for their children, especially during the summer months. Mariana works in the fields and experiences a reduction in her hours each summer. Alejandro works for a landscaping company. Their two older children face a summer without breakfast and lunch at school, and their toddler attends Pathways Early Childhood Education Center.
Thankfully, this family is enrolled in our Harry’s Helpings program at Pathways. This innovative feeding program is designed to help meet the gap needed to ensure that no one has to go hungry and makes food assistance readily available where children attend school or after-school programming. Families receive food kits that are filled with enough nutritious, shelf-stable food to make more than 15 meals.
Together, we are making a difference to the more than a quarter of a million people in Southwest Florida that we serve each month. Together, we are leading our community in the fight to end hunger.
To support our efforts, please click here.
If you are looking for food, please click here.
If you are well, able, and willing to give your time, please click here to sign up.