Food bank garners big donations
Chick-fil-A, Winn-Dixie help Harry Chapin group

Harry Chapin Volunteer Coordinator Marta Hodson (left), volunteer Linda Ritz, Assistant Director Joyce Jacobs and Executive Director Al Brislain celebrate a $10,000 Winn-Dixie donation and community food donations on National Hunger Awareness Day.

Nearly 3,000 pounds of peanut butter, fruit cups, canned ravioli and other kid-friendly foods were donated to the Harry Chapin Food Bank during the "Fil-A-Truck for Kids" food drive at the Cypress Lake Chick-fil- A on National Hunger Awareness Day June 5.

"The community really came through to help us take care of the children in our area this summer," said Al Brislain, executive director of the Harry Chapin Food Bank. "We are very grateful to everyone who donated food and to Chick-fil-A for helping us call attention to hunger issues faced by Southwest Florida families."

The food will allow local food pantries, churches and women's shelters to provide roughly 2,000 meals to children this summer.

People of all ages - including a teacher and her 5-yearold who collected more than 200 food items from their friends and neighbors - stopped by the Cypress Lake Chick-fil-A throughout the day with bags and boxes of food. Food bank volunteers handed out National Hunger Awareness Day stickers and Chick-fil-A sandwiches donated by restaurant owners Steve and Wanda Bishop.

Jenny Reavis's sons Alex Reavis, 6, and Jake, 4, donate food and get fireman hats from Chris Coyote of Wide Open Country 92.5, which promoted the event.

At noon, a team of Southwest Florida Winn-Dixie store managers presented the food bank with a $10,000 donation from the Winn-Dixie Foundation.

"Winn-Dixie is committed to making our community a better place, and we are proud to take part in the food bank's effort to raise awareness about hunger in America," said store manager James Kelena.

Forty percent of the clients in the food bank's emergency food programs are children, and most receive a free breakfast and lunch at school. In the summer, their parents - many of whom are single moms - struggle to provide them with nutritious meals at home.

National Hunger Awareness Day is an annual effort by more than 200 food banks nationwide to raise awareness about hunger in local communities. This year's theme, "The Face of Hunger," called attention to the reality that hunger impacts all kinds of people, including working families and people with sudden illness.

Executive Director Al Brislain with Chick-fil-A owners Steve and Wanda Bishop

The Harry Chapin Food Bank serves the five-county area of Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades, providing food and hope to the hungry of Southwest Florida. Children, the elderly and the underemployed make up a vast majority of those in need. The Harry Chapin Food Bank, working through 127 partner agencies, distributes enough food to provide approximately 200,000 meals in Southwest Florida every month. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.HarryChapinFood- Bank.org or call (239) 334-7007.