Two Perkins Restaurants and Bakeries in Cape Coral are joining six others in the area for a food drive to benefit the Harry Chapin Food Bank.
Until Aug. 31, the community is encouraged to bring nonperishable food items and drop them into the blue barrels located in the lobbies of participating restaurants.
“For those donating two or more items, Perkins will provide a coupon for a free slice of pie, fresh from their in-house bake shops,” said Joyce Jacobs, a spokesperson for the Harry Chapin Food Bank.
The Cape participants are at:
— 1501 Cape Coral Parkway
— 1551 Del Prado Blvd.
Other area participants are at:
— 13620 N. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers
— 12300 Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers
— 11410 Summerlin Square Drive, Fort Myers Beach
— 27941 Crown Lame Blvd., Bonita Springs
— 2700 Lee Blvd., Lehigh Acres
— 13801 Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers
The Harry Chapin Food Bank provides food to serve more than 20,000 people monthly.
The food collected through solicitations and collections is stored at the Fort Myers facility and distributed through a network of nonprofit agencies in Lee and surrounding counties.
Jacobs said this is the first time Perkins will hold a food drive.
“We are very excited, and it is so nice of them to offer the piece of pie,” she said. “People are very generous, if given the opportunity. It is nice for them to get something in return.”
According to Jacobs, during the previous fiscal year that ended in late June, 6 million pounds of food was distributed by 170 agencies.
According to Wayne Walburg, vice president of operations, there are nearly 500 Perkins Restaurant and Bakeries in 34 states and four Canadian provinces.
“By utilizing their restaurants as a convenient dropoff point for food contributions, guests, neighbors and local citizens can make meaningful contributions that will have an immediate impact on providing hunger relief,” he said in a prepared statement.
For more information or to make financial contributions to the Harry Chapin Food Bank, call 334-7007 or visit online at: harrychapinfoodbank.org.