Publix teams up with Harry Chapin to fight hunger

September is Hunger Action Month, and Publix is partnering with the Harry Chapin Food Bank to help the Southwest Florida community.

Publix employees gathered at the food bank on Thursday to help pack boxes, preparing as many meal kits as possible to combat hunger.

Nutrient-packed foods are carefully but quickly being packed as part of the grocery chain “Publix Serves Week.”

During this period, $11 million has been donated to more than 300 local food banks and other nonprofits, including 39 Feeding America partner food banks.

More than one hundred Publix volunteers got a little cheer wave as they got up bright and early, ready to prep, box, and load food donations at Harry Chapin Food Bank in Fort Myers.

“Our team is here as part of the Publix serves week where we give back to our community,” said Christy Williams, District Manager for Publix Supermarkets. “It was important to give back to the communities in which we operate. And we are fired up, packing up some food boxes.”

Each box is filled with non-perishable goods like canned fruit and vegetables, granola bars, and powdered milk.

Within the first hour, more than 100 boxes were stacked and ready to go.

“Our good friends at Publix here, all week long, they’ve been packing boxes like crazy,” said Richard LeBer, President of Harry Chapin Food Bank. “I think they’ve finished over 4,000 boxes for families this week. So that’s 4,000 families in our community.”

Food insecurity is one of the pressing issues southwest Florida faces.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, studies show that 1 in 7 people across the nation struggle with food insecurity.

“We feed about a quarter of a million people in just southwest Florida every month,” said LeBer. “The support of our community, the support of wonderful people like publix to help us achieve our mission of leading the community in the fight to end hunger, it just is heartwarming.”

It takes a team of dedicated people looking to make a difference by lending a helping hand.

“It’s a wonderful way to get involved and really go home at the end of the day feeling really good about what you did to help your neighbors who might need a hand up,” said LeBer.

For more information on the event and the grocery chains initiative, click here.

The Harry Chapin Food Bank partners with WINK News as part of our “WINK Feeds Families” initiative.

Every February, WINK News puts on its March to a Million Meals campaign, spearheaded by WINK News anchor Lois Thome.

Throughout the month, WINK enlists the Southwest Florida community’s help to combat hunger, generating nearly enough donations to provide 1.4 million meals.

If you need assistance from Harry Chapin, click here for food distributions.

To learn more on how to volunteer, click here.