"Meals of Hope" has a mission: to combat hunger throughout the community of Southwest Florida not just for the holidays but throughout the year.
The non-profit is the largest food pantry provider in Southwest Florida and looks to inspire and empower communities to come together to end hunger.
“The need for food assistance has absolutely exploded this year," said Stephen Popper, President and CEO of the organization. "We are not serving predominately unemployed or homeless people. We are serving the working poor.
And the main reason why — inflation issues predominate?
“So many of these people are working extremely hard, they just can’t make their income stretch far enough," Popper said.
Meals of Hope is among the few to operate a food pantry that specializes in the needs for infants, with formula, baby cereal and all stages of baby food, as well as diapers, fresh produce and frozen meat.
They also have a program to help families with school-age children have the food they need for the weekend.
Popper knows full well the power of community coming together to help those in need.
“We can’t do and can’t sustain this without the generosity of our neighbors," he said.
In an effort to help feed those in need this holiday season, the organization will bring together an estimated 2,000 volunteers Saturday, to put together 420,000 packages of their ready to eat fortified pre-cooked oatmeal packs.
The fresh packs will be distributed to various pantries throughout Southwest Florida, all in an effort to help bring hope each meal at a time.
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