Suncoast Credit Union donates new delivery truck to Harry Chapin Food Bank

FORT MYERS — Suncoast Credit Union Foundation donated a new refrigerated delivery truck to Harry Chapin Food Bank, a gift that helps the nonprofit provide food to additional neighbors experiencing hunger throughout Southwest Florida.

The truck, a Peterbilt Model 548 with a full-length refrigerated trailer and hydraulic lift, will deliver fresh produce, boxed food, canned goods, frozen food and perishables to individuals and families through Harry Chapin Food Bank’s robust Feeding Network, which includes 175+ agency partners throughout Collier, Charlotte, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties. The donated truck and trailer are valued at $250,000.

“Trucks like this can distribute 20 or more pallets of food to a location,” said Richard LeBer, president and CEO of Harry Chapin Food Bank. “It’s a really important part of our ability to feed over 250,000 people monthly across five counties. We’re delighted to have the truck join the fleet and so grateful for the generosity of Suncoast Credit Union and its Foundation.”

Bob Hyde, vice president of community impact at Suncoast Credit Union, presented LeBer with keys to the new truck on July 21 at a previously scheduled mobile distribution and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program registration event at the STARS Complex in Fort Myers. Harry Chapin Food Bank provided more than 200 neighbors with fresh vegetables, including cabbage, spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes and white potatoes, along with half-gallon jugs of milk and frozen chicken.

In announcing the donation, Hyde noted the Foundation has a responsibility to invest in the communities where its members live and establish partnerships to address issues impacting residents in those communities. In Southwest Florida, an estimated one in eight people – including one in six children – are food insecure. The timing of Suncoast’s donation coincided with a period of increased demand for food as working adults face reduced hours and lower wages during slower summer months. Meanwhile, schools are closed for the summer, and many children and teens lack access to meals typically provided by schools.

“Our mission at Suncoast Credit Union is to improve the lives of our members and the communities where they live,” Hyde said of Suncoast Credit Union. “It is impossible to name a greater need than food and nutrition, and we are proud to partner with Harry Chapin Food Bank to help alleviate hunger.

The Suncoast Credit Union Foundation is a nonprofit organization that promotes the education, health and emotional wellbeing of children in the community. Since the Foundation’s inception in 1990, it has contributed over $53 million to nonprofits and charitable causes.