20
Sep 2018
Meals of Hope President/CEO Stephen Popper started the organization after his mother heard of school children in Haiti having difficulty learning because they did not have enough food. She knew of a food packing program in the Midwest and wanted to know if her son would ship the food if she found a way to collect it. Popper realized there wasn’t a food packing program in Southwest Florida to help local needy families, so he started doing research and working with food supply manufacturers. He contacted the Rotary Club of Naples, which......
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18
Sep 2018
Nearly a year after Hurricane Irma hit Southwest Florida on September 10, 2017, Meals of Hope still provides services to families whose homes were damaged and individuals who lost jobs and need additional support services. In the eight months prior to Irma, Meals of Hope distributed 700,000 pounds of food through its pantries. In the six weeks after the storm, 850,000 pounds were distributed, and the organization ended the year having distributed 2.2 million pounds of food locally. Prior to Irma, food was distributed at three locations, and for six weeks afterward,......
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18
Sep 2018
Meals of Hope held its first packing event at Naples High School in 2007, where 500 people packed 135,000 meals. Approximately 11 years later, on Friday, Sept. 7, the Naples High School hosted another chapter in Meals of Hope history when the Student Government Association packed the 50 millionth meal. This event marked another opportunity to raise hunger awareness during Hunger Action Month. “We’re going all over the country buying supplies for our packing events,” said Meals of Hope President/CEO Stephen Popper. “Our cost is right around .25 cents a meal, so......
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18
Sep 2018
Meals of Hope broke a Guinness World Record for the “most cereal boxes toppled in a domino fashion” by knocking over 3,913 boxes on Saturday, September 1, at Grow Church in Naples. The event kicked off our September Hunger Action Month activities. The 3,913 number was shy of the 4,000 target – a significant number as it represents the number of families Meals of Hope serves at its food pantries each month. Under the supervision of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, at-risk children helped arrange the boxes as a community service project.......
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08
Jan 2016
Thank you to all the volunteers who gathered at The Ritz-Carlton Naples Beach Hotel on December 16, 2017 and at the Lee County Civic Center on December 23, 2017. The combined efforts of more than 3,000 total volunteers made our 5th Annual Holidays Without Hunger packing event a great success! We packed a total of 1,027,000 vitamin, and mineral fortified Cinnamon-Apple Oatmeal meals, all of which were donated to the Harry Chapin Foodbank of SW Florida, and will help food insecure people in the 5-county region of SW Florida. Thank you to all......
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29
Jul 2015
Fifty kids from the Boys and Girls Club of Collier County packed 20,488 meals as a Christmas in July kickoff event for Meals of Hope’s fifth annual Holidays Without Hunger packing event. The 2017 event were held on December 16th at The Ritz-Carlton Naples Beach Hotel and on December 23rd at the Lee County Civic Center. With nearly 3,000 volunteers at the events we packed over 1,000,000 meals in just three 2-hours sessions!...
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28
Jun 2012
The Florida Society of Association Executives will host its third annual Meals of Hope food packing event Friday, July 13th from 2:00pm – 4:00pm in the Palm Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando. Last year, more than 40,000 meals were packed by FSAE volunteers – a number they hope to surpass in 2012. This community outreach program is sponsored by the Marriott & Renaissance Hotels of Florida. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT FSAE....
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03
Jun 2012
Meals of Hope partnered with The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, USA to help feed those in the Southeast African Nation of Malawi who have been affected by the lack of food due to drought. On May 30th 2012, 288,000 Meals of Hope arrived in the township of Nancholi near the Malawi City of Blantyre. READ MORE....
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02
Jun 2012
450 professionals, homemakers, students and other residents of Estero, Fla. joined forces on Saturday, June 2nd to help pack and distribute food during a United Way Day of Caring for the Harry Chapin Food Bank.The cafeteria at Estero High School was a buzz as the 2nd Annual Building the Fight Against Hunger Event was held. Teams of volunteers from WCI Communities partnered with Meals of Hope and the United Way packed 225,000 meals in one Saturday afternoon....
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27
Oct 2011
Providence Church in Albany, Georgia, produced a powerful video to get the word out about hunger and food insecurity within its community. The food packing event it hosted on December 11, 2011, was a success with thousands of meals going to locals in need. Watch Video...
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