‘SOS Save Our Summer’ gears up for Smack Down on Hunger food drive
Cape Coral’s nonprofit dedicated to feeding families, children, and assisting those in need has launched its summer campaign aimed to end hunger in the city.
Cape Coral Caring Center’s “SOS Save Our Summer” is rallying the community for a high-energy, high-impact mission to fight hunger. On June 26, neighbors, business leaders, and local champions will gather for a food drive — a spirited fundraising event aimed at ensuring no family in Cape Coral goes to bed hungry.
With a theme as bold as its mission — “Put the Smackdown on Hunger” — the event challenges participants to join forces and compete to bring in the most donations, whether food or monetary. The prize is helping struggling families across the region have access to meals during the critical summer months when need is highest.
“We’re going to put a smackdown on hunger,” said CCCC Executive Director Julie Ferguson. “No child is going to be hungry on our watch. People don’t realize that hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation. When schools out, children are still hungry and are not receiving free breakfast and lunch.”
From June to August, CCCC puts together “healthy not hungry” bags for children that are designed to feed a child for an entire week. A bag is given to each child in a family, once per month.
Ferguson said so far this month, CCCC has already distributed roughly 200 bags. Last year, they passed out 500 across all three months.
“It’s a very expensive program for us, but it’s worth it,” she said. “Children have to have food to survive and thrive, and it takes some pressure off of mom and dad.”
Ferguson said summer months can be especially challenging for families, with many incomes that are based on tourism and those in the service industry taking a hit.
“It just makes it more important for us to make sure kids have food,” she said. “This smackdown will help us fund these bags.
“We want to make sure we can help anyone that is in need, and we’re looking to the community to come together to make sure that our kids and families are fed.”
Other than getting a bag of food, those at CCCC will sit down with families and discuss other ways they can receive assistance.
“There’s a lot of things in the community that can help them,” Ferguson said, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, or where they can find resources for jobs opportunities. “We give them food, but we also give them information.”
The need for food in Cape Coral, from Ferguson’s viewpoint — and she has a good one — has increased in recent times. She said the center will see 10 to 12 families or more come in each day as opposed to the usual four to five.
“We see a lot of people in a lot of different circumstances,” she said. “People are still recovering from hurricanes. People are getting laid off unexpectedly. We’re doing everything we can to make sure people have better lives.”
The center recently installed a generator that will be able to power the building and allow them to provide services and goods should a storm blow through.
This food drive event is supported by sponsors whose commitment makes this mission possible. They are: Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce, Cape Coral Caring Center, Royal Palm Coast Realtor Association, Rotary International, Spiro & Associates and Kiwanis International.
The food drive event is not open to the public, though donations can be given to any of the participating entities or to the caring center directly.
Ferguson said community supporting community is paramount in the center’s efforts, and that you may never know who is in need.
“People that you might never expect fall on hard times,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. I’ve never been in need before. I am beyond embarrassed to be here.’ It breaks my heart to hear somebody say that, however, I know, that they’re going to be treated with such kindness and such respect, and not be made to feel bad for being in need.”
The Cape Coral Caring Center was founded in 1990, and since its inception, has helped more than 70,000 people in the Cape Coral community on a short-term basis.
Donations to the Cape Coral Caring Center can be made via check, through a neighborhood food drive, Walgreens and Amazon, or PayPal. The center can turn $1 into approximately $8 worth of food and essentials.
The Cape Coral Caring Center is at 1420 S.E. 47th Street – two blocks west of Del Prado Boulevard and two blocks north of Cape Coral Parkway.
Food donations and deliveries are accepted Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon (excluding holidays) at the back door — ring the door bell.
For large deliveries or pick-ups, call (239) 945-1927.
For more information, visit capecoralcaringcenter.org.
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com