Food Assistance
A Never-Ending Need
In November 1987, a group of concerned Naples parishioners began working together to feed those experiencing hunger in our community. Little did they know that this once modest effort dubbed the “Taskforce for the Homeless” would lay the foundation for the St. Matthew’s House food assistance program that exists today.
Prior to COVID-19, the program served an average of 250 households every month with distributions in East Naples and Fort Myers. As the effects of the Coronavirus outbreak added stress to families already struggling to make ends meet and led to a significant increase in the number of people experiencing food insecurity for the first time, St. Matthew’s House stepped up to meet the need.
Over the last year, the St. Matthew’s House food assistance program has grown exponentially – expanding from 3 distribution sites to 12 and from serving 400 households a month to as many as 21,000 a month.
In partnership with local churches and schools, we implemented drive-thru distributions where staff and volunteers loaded prepacked grocery bags directly into recipients’ vehicles. This new system allowed us to continue feeding those who experience hunger while reducing crowds and limiting exposure. From July 2020 through June 2021, this model reached a total of 171,999 households with 5,711,096 pounds of non-perishable groceries and fresh produce, representing a 5,000% increase year over year.
With the flexibility and scalability to meet changing needs in our community, this model is able to deliver resources to locations across Southwest Florida that our traditional pantry in East Naples was previously unable to reach. Distribution sites have been strategically set up in food deserts, areas which the USDA defines as low-income census tracts where many residents lack access to a supermarket or grocery store.
Currently, the program serves ten locations throughout Lee and Collier Counties with plans to expand into Hendry County and Cape Coral in the future. Costs of operating the pantry total $8.30 per household and provide an estimated $80 worth of groceries to each family. The vulnerable populations we serve are often the first hit in times of economic hardship, and the last to recover, so we expect increased needs to continue for months or even years after the immediacy of the COVID-19 crisis dissipates.
Lorna McLain, Director of Food Assistance, described the last year as a coming together in the community.
“We asked for help, and the community stepped up,” Lorna said. “Everyone gave what they could, whether that was a little or a lot, and together, we accomplished so much.”
We’re so grateful to our food bank partners, community food drives, distribution sites, staff, volunteers and donors who have given to make this work possible. The principle “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat” was what St. Matthew’s House was founded on more than 30 years ago, and it remains as true as ever to this day.