If you live in the South Fort Myers area and you have lost your job or just find yourself in a situation where you can't afford enough food between paychecks you are probably eligible to get food at the South Fort Myers Food Pantry.
Come by the pantry with proof of address (recent bill) any Monday between 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM or between 5:15 PM and 8:00 PM. The pantry is located behind the Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church at 8260 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers.
Questions? Call 239-628-3191. Once you have signed up with us you will be assigned the weeks that you may come for food. If you do not live within our boundaries we will give you information about other pantries. If you are homeless, we have special bags for you and you may come every week. A resource table is available to provide referrals to other services in the community.
Hunger Statistics
The Harry Chapin Food Bank (HCFB) supports over 170 agencies in five Southwest Florida counties. The South Fort Myers Food Pantry is one of those agencies that has partnered with the HCFB. In a one year period the volume of food that HCFB distributed increased by 86 percent.
Also, over a 12 month period one out of three families needed food assistance at some point; not necessarily for the whole 12 months. Of the people seeking assistance, 50% had to make a choice between paying the rent and buying food, 35% were choosing between food and medications, 33% had one person in the household employed, and 9% were seniors.
During 2016 we served 7274 individual clients and a total of 22,669 family members were fed. We distributed approximately 528,384 pounds of food from the Harry Chapin Food Bank snd does not include donations from food drives, the Midwest Food Bank and local grocery stores.
The age group right now most affected by food insecurity is those people between 60 and 64. Anyone in this age group and recently unemployed are not likely to be hired before their unemployment runs out and they have a block of time with no income before being eligible for social security. Less money leads to food insecurity and hunger.
It was determined that 37% of people suffering food hardships are not eligible for food assistance programs. Those who are eligible for SNAP have to wade through a 15 page application. This can be done on a computer if one has access to a computer and the know-how to use it.
The obstacles to having a balanced diet for many residents of South Fort Myers may be overwhelming to many and we only hope that there will be people out there willing to help our neighbors through their time of need.