Grant expands mobile food pantry outreach
The Southwest Florida Community Foundation recently awarded $50,000 to Harry Chapin Food Bank through its Initiative Grant cycle that will be used for mobile service and food distribution.
Anne Douglas, SWFLCF’s Director of Programs, said that the Initiative Grant criteria this year included a focus on regional efforts, innovation, and collaboration. “We were looking for projects that had regional scopes, especially ones that could reach into underserved communities such as those in Hendry and Glades counties. We also wanted to see newly developed pilot projects where innovation and collaboration between several community partners was evident.”
Thanks to the large grant, Harry Chapin Food Bank will now be able to implement its Mobile Distribution/SNAP Outreach Program. The mobile distribution component of this program will enable Harry Chapin to distribute meat, dairy, and fresh produce from a mobile food pantry to areas with smaller food pantries that do not have the capacity to handle perishable foods. They will also be able to increase their reach into areas such as Clewiston, Moore Haven, Immokalee, Lehigh, and parts of Charlotte and Cape Coral.
The SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Outreach component of the program will provide a part-time SNAP Outreach worker who will help clients to access food stamp benefits via two laptop computers with wireless access at each distribution site. SNAP helps low-income families to access healthy food that is not otherwise available to those with a very limited budget. Many individuals are not even aware that they are eligible to receive these benefits, which then remain unclaimed, so SNAP provides an important educational service as well.
For more information about the Harry Chapin Food Bank, visit them online at www.harrychapinfoodbank.org.