Harry Chapin Food Bank's new Fort Myers center nearing early completion

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — Construction is progressing on the Harry Chapin Food Bank's new Hunger Action Center at the intersection of Ortiz Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Crews have put up the walls, and WINK News is getting a first look inside. Dozens of construction workers have transformed an empty lot into the shell of Harry Chapin Food Bank's state-of-the-art distribution center and warehouse facility.

The construction includes spaces for food storage, trucking loading areas, a volunteer center, community pantry, offices and lobby. When finished, it will allow the food bank to double the amount of food it distributes to families.

That day might come sooner than expected.

"It's pretty unbelievable," said Irma Lancaster, director of communication and marketing for the Harry Chapin Food Bank. "The building is a few months away from completion, we are ahead of schedule. We might possibly move in a little bit sooner, and that has me and everyone else back at our current building, very excited."

The Harry Chapin Food Bank now expects to move into the Hunger Action Center by October.