New mobile food pantry to serve Southwest Florida's underserved communities

IMMOKALEE, Fla. — A new mobile food pantry will serve many of Southwest Florida's underserved communities. With a donation from the Collier Community Foundation, Meals of Hope will be able to expand the communities it serves.

Click here to see Immokalee Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo speak with Meals of Hope President and CEO.

Wheels of Hope is the new mobile food pantry created by Meals of Hope.

"What we're utilizing that grant money for is that we're in the process of having a food pantry trailer built," Stephen Popper said. "And the idea is that with this new trailer, we're going to be able to go into underserved communities, smaller communities that just doesn't make sense for us to bring all of our big trucks into those areas, but areas that are really in need."

Areas like Immokalee will benefit from this new service. Stephen Popper, president and CEO of Meals of Hope, says the mobile pantry isn't your typical food handout. Popper says the families will be able to shop rather than getting a premade bag of groceries.

"We really don't want to give out lots of canned goods at this trailer," Popper said. "We want to give highly desirable fresh produce, frozen meat, things that really all of us in the community want to eat."

The timing of this pantry is critical for Immokalee.

"The one grocery store in the community is now closed," Popper said.

Meals of Hope says they saw an 18% spike in demand after the closure of Winn-Dixie. The organization already operates 15 weekly food pantries across Southwest Florida.

"If you're hungry, we want to serve you," Popper said.

Wheels of Hope is expected to hit the road by the end of January.

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