Collier Community Foundation Grant Helps Provide Food to Neighbors Experiencing Hunger

FORT MYERS, Fla. (Dec. 12, 2025) — The Collier Community Foundation has awarded a $55,000 grant to help Harry Chapin Food Bank strengthen its Golden Gate Mobile Pantry Program, which serves children, families, seniors and veterans experiencing hunger.

The Mobile Pantry Program uses farmers market-style and drive-thru distribution models to provide fresh fruits and vegetables, proteins, canned goods, bread and other shelf-stable items.

“Our Mobile Pantry Program is critically important for neighbors who do not have reliable access to transportation or the time to drive into central Naples for a bag of groceries,” said Richard LeBer, president and CEO of Harry Chapin Food Bank. “We don’t want distance to be the determining factor in whether a family eats dinner tonight. The generous grant from the Collier Community Foundation will provide 110,000 meals at a time when so many Southwest Floridians are struggling.”

The Collier Community Foundation has supported Harry Chapin Food Bank for many years, including through a recent $51,000 food insecurity grant that helped provide food to neighbors across Collier County.

The Foundation focuses its philanthropic giving on six priorities: housing and hunger; mental health and substance abuse; environment and accessibility; education and employment; crisis and disaster relief; and seniors and veterans.

“Addressing hunger is essential to building a stronger, more resilient Collier County,” said Eileen Connolly-Keesler, president and CEO of the Collier Community Foundation. “For 40 years, our Foundation has invested in partners who lift up our neighbors, and Harry Chapin Food Bank is at the forefront of that work. This support ensures that families, seniors and veterans in Golden Gate can access nutritious food when they need it most.”

Southwest Florida residents experiencing hunger can search for food distribution sites and mobile pantries through Harry Chapin Food Bank’s Food Finder platform at HarryChapinFoodBank.org/food-locator.