Fort Myers food bank expands to tackle hunger with new $50M center

FORT MYERS - The Harry Chapin Food Bank is making big strides in its mission to fight hunger in Southwest Florida.

The organization is building a new Hunger Action Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. near Ortiz Ave.

Richard LeBer, president and CEO of the Harry Chapin Food Bank, explained the challenges they are facing.

"The latest bout of inflation and the affordability crisis that we're currently experiencing means that a lot of working families, a lot of seniors on fixed incomes are really struggling to make ends meet," said LeBer. "So we anticipate that demand for our support is going to be high and remain high and continue to grow with the community, and we have far outgrown the capacity of our current infrastructure."

The new Hunger Action Center is a $50 million project that will transform more than 100,000 square feet of empty lot into a state-of-the-art distribution center and warehouse facility.

"It's about twice as large just in footprint. It's also about twice as high inside; it has freezers and coolers that are four or five times the capacity of our current freezers and coolers. It has 10 loading docks across the back," said LeBer.

The center aims to enhance the food bank's ability to serve the community for decades to come.

"It's going to take the food bank to an entirely different level of capability," said LeBer. "It's going to be a place we can all be proud of, and more importantly, that everyone in our community can rely on...to take care of everybody in our community, so that no one in our community has to go hungry."

Construction of the Hunger Action Center is scheduled to be completed by December, with operations expected to begin in January of the following year.