Harry Chapin Food Bank in desperate need of support to continue mission

A local food bank is in urgent need of help.

Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida is pleading with the community for money and food to continue its mission.

Antoine Lovette sees lots of people in need.

“As the pandemic began, the need for it increased dramatically,” Antoine Lovette said.

Harry Chapin Food Bank is worried about whether it can keep up with demand.

“We received a lot of money from the federal government through the original round of the CARES Act,” said Richard LeBer, the food bank president and CEO. “We spent all of that money purchasing food to provide to people in Southwest Florida.”

Harry Chapin Food Bank is running on private donations and its own savings at this time.

“It is a little tight right now,” LeBer said. “We’ve cut back on the amount food we’re distributing at some of our distributions because we haven’t been able to get as much as we want.”

The problem is food insecurity is not going away.

Thanks to partners such as St. Matthew’s House and many others, the food bank still feeds close to a quarter of a million people each month.

In order to keep the operation running, Harry Chapin needs more help. The food bank spends $1 million a month on food alone.

“People can help us in lots of ways,” LeBer said. “We’re always delighted to take donations of food. Don’t go to the grocery store and buy food on our behalf. We can do a lot more with a dollar than you can.”

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