Community InReach Co-op launches food pantry
On Friday, July 2, there will be a festival launch event called Free Food Friday at the corner of School Street and Oak Street near the Beach Methodist Church on Fort Myers Beach.
The event will help parents launch the grand opening of the “Community InReach Co-op Food Pantry” on Monday, July 5. This food pantry, which will operate daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will serve the food needs of the entire beach community. The pantry will be a “Choice Market” where families will be allowed to come and “shop” for the items that their family will eat. This model for food pantries has already been launched with partner CCMI in Fort Myers and has experienced amazing success. Volunteers will be needed on a daily basis to meet the needs of our community.
The July 5 event will also be the official opening the “Community InReach Co-op DCF Remote Access Site.” Ten members of the group have been certified with the Department of Children and Families to serve as Access Site volunteers to assist the members of the community in applying for food stamps, temporary cash assistance and emergency relief.
If you would like to help with either of these programs or the launch event, please call 463-6452 (ext. 710).
There will be a Beach food drive going on from Monday, June 28 to Friday, July 2. Food can be dropped off at Beach Baptist. The food that is collected stays on beach and gets handed back out.