The Harry Chapin Food Bank makes your donated dollar go further with the help of volunteers. Marylou Phillips has handed out food in Punta Gorda for 10 years. “I come in every Thursday. And that’s what I enjoy. I enjoy seeing the people enjoy helping,” Phillips said. In fact, this entire group of volunteers from Saint Vincent DePaul is part of what makes the Harry Chapin Food Bank such an efficient hunger-fighting machine. Volunteers at the Harry Chapin Food Bank help the organization keep cost low in order to provide the community with food. (CREDIT: WINK News) “We would shut down in an instant if it wasn’t for the thousands of volunteers that come and help us,” said Harry Chapin Food Bank CEO Richard Leber. More than 4,000 volunteers donated more than 78,000 hours to the food pantry last year. They handed out food and packaged it. And helped in all aspects to help cut costs so more food gets into the hands of people who need it. “We literally would not be able to do what we do without them,” Leber said. Volunteers, like this group at Sacred Heart Church in Punta Gorda, donated more than $2 million in in-kind services last year. But that’s not what motivates them. Volunteers at the Harry Chapin Food Bank help the organization keep cost low in order to provide the community with food. (CREDIT: WINK News) “We have a lot ofpeople here that come through and they wouldn’t have anything else to eat. It’s the people they serve. “There are people that have come through that have said, I used to work and volunteer also. And now I’m homeless. Situations happen so quickly for people. And you can be having a job one day and you can lose your job the next,” Marylou said. “Somebody one time came through in a brand-new Cadillac. And I heard someone make a comment about that. And I said, but you don’t know. She may have just lost her job yesterday and she’s waiting for this to be taken back to the dealership. So, there is no judgment. Absolutely no judgment. It’s not for us to do.” If you make a donation to March to a Million Meals, that’s how your money will be used, feeding people. About 96 cents of every dollar goes to food programs. HOW TO HELP: Help us put a million meals on the tables of hungry families in Southwest Florida. You can donate by visiting our March to a Million Meals donation page.