Richard LeBer

This time of year, generosity overflows in Southwest Florida. Kindness, humanity and understanding abound. We all have a soft spot in our hearts and our community bands together every holiday season to ensure that families can enjoy festive dinners and children have presents under the tree on Christmas morning.

Once the new year rolls around, though, our thoughts naturally shift from giving, volunteering and celebrating special occasions to “normalcy,” things like work, school and everyday life.

Hunger, however, is not seasonal. The need to help nourish children, families and seniors extends year round. It’s prevalent during the winter, when Southwest Florida is flush with visitors and people work 40-plus hours a week. It’s prevalent during the spring, when temperatures start to warm and seasonal residents head north. It’s prevalent during summer, when slowdowns in hospitality and tourism translate to smaller paychecks. It’s prevalent in the fall, when parents tap into their savings to purchase school supplies and uniforms.

Harry Chapin Food Bank serves more than 250,000 individuals every month through its Feeding Network that includes more than 175 partners and an array of food distribution programs. This year, the food bank will distribute 39.5 million pounds of food, the equivalent of 32 million meals.

High season in Florida — December, January, February and March — offers opportunities for working people to earn bigger paychecks by picking up additional shifts and overtime or working second jobs. Families rely on the larger paychecks from high season to cover expenses when times are leaner from April through November. Even so, housing, transportation, health care, utilities, clothing and other essentials can quickly drain a budget.

And there’s often little room for error: a rent increase, illness or unexpected car repair can destroy the budget.

Hunger is not seasonal, and our compassion should not be a seasonal gesture, either. As we flip the calendar to 2025, below are three ways you can help Harry Chapin Food Bank feed our neighbors who are experiencing hunger and prepare for the future as we overcome food insecurity:

• Monetary donations: Donors can make secure donations online, write a check or provide cash donations — all are appreciated. Harry Chapin Food Bank can turn $100 into 200 healthy meals for local families.

• Product donations: Non-perishable foods help restock food pantries throughout the year. The most needed food items include breakfast bars, canned fish or chicken, dry or canned beans, canned vegetables, pasta, bottled pasta sauces, cooking oil, dry milk, jelly, rice and canned soups.

• Volunteer: Individuals, families, groups of friends and organizations can volunteer at Harry Chapin Food Bank’s distribution centers in Fort Myers and Naples, or help distribute food at food pantries and mobile pantries held nearly every day across the region.

To learn more, please visit HarryChapinFoodBank.org.

Richard LeBer is president and CEO of Harry Chapin Food Bank, Southwest Florida’s largest hunger-relief nonprofit and the region’s only Feeding America member.