LeeTran and Publix team up to feed hungry
Here’s a grocery shopper alert! On Sunday, Sept. 18, Lee County Transit (LeeTran) is deploying its fleet of buses to all Publix locations throughout Lee County to collect food for the Harry Chapin Food Bank.
The public is being asked to help LeeTran “stuff the bus” in their annual “Fill Our Fleet-Feed Our Hungry” event. This is the third annual “Fill Our Fleet Feed Our Hungry” promotion LeeTran and Publix have participated in. Last year, 72,998 pounds of food were collected during the one-day event. Publix will have pre-packaged sacks of groceries for the public to purchase; individual purchases will also be welcome.
LeeTran buses will park in the Publix parking lots from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for shoppers to fill bins with nonperishable food. At 3 p.m., the buses will caravan to the Harry Chapin Food Bank’s Fowler Street warehouse, where volunteers will unload the donations.
LeeTran drivers and other employees are volunteering their day’s labor to serve the community. The event is being co-sponsored by the Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., and The News-Press Media Group.
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 National Association of Letter Carrier Food Drive in May.
The Harry Chapin Food Bank solicits, collects and stores quality food for distribution to families in need through a network of 186 local nonprofit agencies in Lee, Collier, Hendry, Charlotte and Glades counties, who provide food to more than 30,000 people monthly. Over 1 million pounds of food are distributed monthly. For every dollar donated, about $6 in food value goes back to the community. In the past fiscal year, The Harry Chapin Food Bank distributed 12.5 million pounds of food and other grocery products; this was a 31 percent increase over the previous year.
Additional information about or to contribute financially to the Harry Chapin Food Bank, go to harrychapinfoodbank.org or contact 334-7007.