Lehigh Acres community supporting Irma victims one year later

Multiple churches handed out hundreds of baskets of food and other items to those who are still recovering from the storm at a charity even Sunday.

A year since Hurricane Irma made landfall in Southwest Florida, some people are still struggling to get by.

Santos Garza lost his job as a result of Hurricane Irma.

“We are a family that both parents work, and we work full time and sometimes things are still very tight financially,” Garza said. “You know we do what we can but this is definitely a true blessing for us.”

A blessing in the form of hundreds of food baskets, supplies and a catered meal.

“We have a lot of selection of food to carry home with us to use to our benefit,” said recipient Edna Jones. “And where do you get that from for free?”

Churches from all across Lehigh Acres met at the Faith Lutheran Church where a charity began after Irma.

“We did a lot to help them then, and we want to continue on,” said Michael Shaw of the Faith Lutheran Church. “With Irma we started a disaster response team to make sure the community is ready.”

A year later, neighbors like Santos Garza and Edna Jones are beyond thankful for the help, and hope to continue to receive it.

Before the event even started, the church had more than one hundred people lined up outside the doors. And year later, the community is still recovering but they are stronger together.