FORT MYERS (AP)-  The public is being asked to help Lee County Transit (LeeTran) “stuff the bus” in their annual “Fill Our Fleet—Feed Our Hungry” event.  LeeTran will deploy its fleet of buses to all Publix locations throughout Lee County to collect food for the Harry Chapin Food Bank on Sunday, September 16.  Publix has pre-packaged sacks of groceries for the public to purchase; individual purchases will also be welcome.        

This is the fourth annual “Fill Our Fleet—Feed Our Hungry” promotion LeeTran and Publix have participated in.  This year’s goal is to collect 100,000 pounds of food.  Last year, 68,889 pounds of food were collected during the one-day event.  The Harry Chapin Food Bank is finding that those who have contributed in the past now need assistance.              

LeeTran buses will park in the Publix parking lots from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for shoppers to fill bins with nonperishable food.  At 3:00 p.m., the buses will caravan to the Harry Chapin Food Bank’s Fowler Street warehouse in Fort Myers, where volunteers will unload the donations.  All food collected during food drives is distributed at no charge to the food bank’s participating agencies.  The need for food continues to grow as more and more families become “food insecure,” not knowing where their net meal is coming from.             LeeTran drivers and other employees are volunteering their day’s labor to serve the community.