The Cape Coral Caring Center has kicked off the second annual ‘Healthy Not Hungry Kids’ campaign to help replenish its food supply as season ends and the school year draws to a close.
A 501(c)(3), the nonprofit organization assists residents who do not have sufficient resources to maintain a suitable lifestyle, including food and shelter.
According to Feeding America, one in five children go to bed hungry. The campaign, aimed at helping Cape Coral children not become a statistic, provides kids with a ‘Healthy Not Hungry‘ bag containing a variety of prepared and unprepared foods. The kids bags hold approximately $30 of food, which feeds a child for about one week.
Items needed for the campaign include:
- Peanut butter
- Jelly
- Product
- Yogurt
- Shelf stable milk
- Macaroni
- Canned pasta
- Soup
- Juice boxes
- Cereal and oatmeal packets
- Crackers
- Granola bars
- Pop-Tarts®
- Fruit cups
- Raisins
- Pudding cups
Established in 1990, support of the Caring Center comes in the form of food and monetary donations. The organization turns every dollar pledged into $8 worth of food. Last year, the campaign served over 1,200 children throughout the community.
Helping to get the campaign started off right, the Cape Coral Community Foundation’s Giving Alliance of Women gave a $5,000 grant to use toward the purchase of the Healthy Not Hungry Kids Bags. The Cape Coral Caring Center hopes to raise $25,000 in monetary donations and collect 25,000 pounds of food.
Four Cape Coral locations have been established to accept food donations:
- Cape Coral Caring Center
- Frank and Sons Moving & Storage
- Modern Woodmen of America
- Quality Automotive Center
For monetary donations, send a check or money order to: Cape Coral Caring Center, 4645 SE 15th Avenue, Cape Coral, FL 33904. Donations can be made online at CapeCoralCaringCenter.org.
The campaign will run through June. For more information, call (239) 945-1927.