Lee County Solid Waste’s fifth annual “Donated not Wasted” food rescue campaign encourages seasonal residents and visitors to donate unopened pantry items before returning north.

Since the program’s inception, 25,385 pounds of food has been diverted from potential disposal and sent to the Harry Chapin Food Bank – enough food to provide more than 21,000 meals to residents.

Join Lee County Solid Waste, Harry Chapin Food Bank, Waste Pro, the Lee County Library System, the Sanibel Public Library and Lee County Parks & Recreation in this effort to help route food that might otherwise end up in the waste stream to the county’s population of people in need.

To help, drop off unopened canned or dry goods from Monday, March 27, to Monday, April 10, at open libraries or Lee County recreation centers. Additional collection containers are at the Six Mile Cypress Slough Interpretive Center and Lee County Solid Waste’s Topaz Court Facility.

Visit www.leegov.com/solidwaste/donated-not-wasted for the full list of collection sites or call 239-533-8000 for more information.

Drop-off locations include:

Recreation Centers

• Estero Recreation Center, 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd., Estero, FL 33928
• North Fort Myers Recreation Center, 2000 North Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers, FL 33903
• Veterans Park Recreation Center, 55 Homestead Road South, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936

Library locations

• Bonita Springs Public Library, 10560 Reynolds St., Bonita Springs, FL 34135
• Cape Coral-Lee County Public Library, 921 SW 39th Terrace, Cape Coral, FL 33914
• Dunbar-Jupiter Hammon Public Library, 3095 Blount St., Fort Myers, FL 33916
• East County Regional Library, 881 Gunnery Road, Lehigh Acres, FL 33971
• Fort Myers Regional Library, 2450 First St., Fort Myers, FL 33901
• Johann Fust Community Library, 1040 W. 10th St., Boca Grande, FL 33921
• North Fort Myers Public Library, 2001 N. Tamiami Trail, North Fort Myers, FL 33903
• Northwest Regional Library, 519 N. Chiquita Blvd. N., Cape Coral, FL 33993
• Pine Island Public Library, 10701 Russell Road, Bokeelia, FL 33922
• Sanibel Public Library, 770 Dunlop Road, Sanibel, FL 33957
• South County Regional Library, 21100 Three Oaks Parkway, Estero, FL 33928

Others

• Six Mile Cypress Slough Interpretive Center, 7751 Penzance Blvd., Fort Myers, FL 33966
• Topaz Court Solid Waste Annex, 6441 Topaz Court, Fort Myers, FL 33966