Harry Chapin Food Bank, the largest hunger-relief organization and only Feeding America partner serving Southwest Florida, is pleased to announce it has received a $25,000 grant from the Collier Community Foundation. The grant will support a partnership between Meals of Hope focused on feeding families in Immokalee.

“We are incredibly grateful for this generous grant from the Collier Community Foundation to support our mission of ending hunger in Southwest Florida,” said Ann Prifrel, the chief development officer at Harry Chapin Food Bank. “We are confident that this partnership will allow both organizations to better serve families throughout our community, ensuring that no one goes to bed hungry.”

The grant will allow Harry Chapin Food Bank and Meals of Hope to provide services directly to families and remove barriers to reliable healthy food for neighbors in Immokalee. The initiative combines the food bank’s mobile market program with Meals of Hope’s “Baby Mobile” to create a convenient one-stop shop for community members in need.

Harry Chapin Food Bank’s Fulfill Mobile Pantry program directly serves those who are food-insecure through a mobile, refrigerated, one-aisle grocery store. Mobile pantries distribute fresh produce, canned and dry goods, frozen meat, breads, grains and other food items. In fiscal 2023, the food bank distributed more than 8.4 pounds of food to underserved communities through its Fulfill Mobile Pantry Program.

Launched in Immokalee in 2023 as Southwest Florida’s first baby food pantry, Meals of Hope’s Baby Mobile provides families with babies and children up to five years old with essential supplies such as free baby food, formula and snacks, fresh produce, frozen meat, diapers and more.

The Collier Community Foundation awards annual grants through a competitive application and review process. Selected organizations receive grant dollars from the Foundation’s discretionary funds. These funds were gifted by donors who believe in the Community Foundation’s ability to mobilize resources to address the community’s greatest needs.

Food insecurity, defined as the lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle, is a foremost concern throughout the region. Feeding America estimates more than 177,000 individuals, including 41,000 children, are impacted throughout Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades and Hendry counties.

Harry Chapin Food Bank is leading the charge to combat food insecurity by feeding more than 250,000 individuals each month through an array of food distribution programs focused on children, families and seniors.

In 2023, Harry Chapin Food Bank distributed approximately 35.6 million pounds of food. That was up from the previous year, further evidence of the growing need in our community.

To join Harry Chapin Food Bank in its fight to end hunger in Southwest Florida, visit harrychapinfoodbank.org.

About Harry Chapin Food Bank

Harry Chapin Food Bank, a Feeding America partner, is the leading hunger-relief organization in Southwest Florida. The food bank rescues food that would otherwise go to waste and distributes it to children, families and seniors who are hungry through a series of food distribution programs that feed more than a quarter of a million people each month.

Through our food distribution programs, Harry Chapin Food Bank distributed 35.7 million pounds of food, including 8.6 million pounds of fresh produce. This food is the equivalent of 29 million meals distributed to families who are hungry.

Our partnership with Feeding America enables us to amplify our food and distribution efforts and bring in food from various retail and grocery stores, national food producers and distributors, and growers locally, nationally and even internationally.

Harry Chapin Food Bank is proud to be named a Blueprint Partner by the Naples Children & Education Foundation (NCEF), the founding organization of the Naples Winter Wine Festival. Harry Chapin Food Bank is also a United Way partner agency. For more information or to make a gift, please call 239.334.7007 or visit harrychapinfoodbank.org.

About the Collier Community Foundation:

Collier Community Foundation® is a tax-exempt, public, charitable organization established in 1985 to increase and focus on local private philanthropy. Today, the Collier Community Foundation manages over 850 funds, works with hundreds of nonprofits, and has granted over $362 million to nonprofit organizations, community programs, and scholarships. Informed giving. Powerful results®. Learn more at colliercf.org or call 239-649-5000.