Donated not Wasted, Lee County’s seventh annual food rescue campaign successfully diverted 7,623 pounds of food from potential disposal, exceeding 2023 collection total of 5,746 pounds by 32.66%.

This annual effort, in partnership with Harry Chapin Food Bank, encourages seasonal residents to donate unopened pantry items to divert as much food as possible from final disposal and the effort exceeded last year’s collection by almost a ton.

Doug Whitehead, director of Lee County Solid Waste, said the food provided more than 6,300 meals.

Partners in the Donated not Wasted campaign included:

• Harry Chapin Food Bank

• Lee County Government – Lee County Solid Waste, Lee County Parks & Recreation and the Lee County Library System

• Waste Pro

Since the program’s inception, more than 33,008 pounds of food has been diverted from potential disposal and sent to the Harry Chapin Food Bank – enough food to provide more than 27,300 meals to residents.

Recreation centers and libraries provided 18 convenient drop-off locations throughout the county.

Source: Lee County Government