Submitted By: Louise Hawthorne
Photo Courtesy: United Way
Fort Myers, FL – Employees of Kraft Heinz packed 4,300 meals at a United Way Day Caring for Meals of Hope. The volunteers assembled shelf-stable meals that will help stock local food pantry shelves. Meals of Hope is a United Way Partner Agency.
Summer is here so most children aren’t getting school lunches. Food pantry shelves need to be filled to help lower income families make it through the summer, and the project will help fill the need. The food packing took place at United Way headquarters, where Meals of Hope delivered the equipment and food items that were assembled to make fortified chicken flavored rice and vegetable soup.
“Meals of Hope can’t thank Kraft Heinz and the United Way enough for teaming up with us to help feed the hungry throughout Southwest Florida. We are very fortunate to have such strong partners that collaborate with us to improve our community,” said Steve Popper, Executive Director of Meals of Hope.
Natalie Rizk, Store Sales Partner for Kraft Heinz said, “We had a blast, and it was great to be a part of such an important cause. Being able to hand make meals, and knowing they were going directly into our local community gave us an incredible sense of pride.”
“A sincere thank you to Kraft Heinz employees for helping to fill food pantry shelves. United Way Days of Caring are great opportunities to build employee morale and teamwork while helping our community,” said Cliff Smith, President of the United Way of Lee, Hendry, Glades, and Okeechobee.
The United Way’s Day of Caring is a year-round program, coordinated by the United Way Volunteer Center which matches businesses’ desires to help with the needs of the community. Many local groups and companies have participated such as Publix; T3 Communications; and Markham, Norton, Mosteller & Wright PA.
The United Way Volunteer Center connects individuals and companies to volunteer opportunities throughout our community. You can reach the United Way Volunteer Center by calling (239) 433-7567, or by visiting the United Way website at www.UnitedWayLee.org.
