Tuesday, 02 March 2010 06:20 Written by Nick

(Fort Myers, FL) - March 1, 2010 - It was hard to miss the tractor trailer parked in front of The Salvation Army on Friday. Sprawled across on both sides of the massive truck were pepperoni pizzas, the words Love Kitchen and the important phrase – Serving To Make a Difference.

Taking the place of the regular nightly meal, Little Caesars Pizza cooked over 60 pizzas and served 200 individuals that came to The Salvation Army to dine last Friday.

“We are so thankful to the local franchise owner, Jim Addis and the company regional offices for donating all the food and labor cost to help in our Meals with Compassion program. We welcome other businesses, restaurants and churches who would like to support our feeding program. Just taking a night or two a year to furnish a meal or a donation to sponsor a meal would allow us to continue to feed individuals and families in need, ” remarked Penhale.

Since 1972, the nightly meal program, Meals With Compassion, has been serving a hot meal to anyone who is hungry in Lee County. Last year alone, The Army served over 24,000 nightly meals. The increases have been staggering. The Salvation Army has seen a 220% increase in meals served since 2001 and 80% of this increase has been in the last two years.

The food service programs (emergency food pantry and Meals with Compassion) at The Salvation Army are positioned as a point of entry for individuals and families. Once the immediate needs are met, the staff begins to address the underlying issues that have forced people to seek assistance. The Salvation Army helps dinner guests by connecting them to additional programs and resources both through their agency and their community’s fellow service providers.

The Army’s other mentioned food service program is the emergency food pantry. Its existence has been in the community since 1969. This program too, has seen staggering increases. Since 2007, the food pantry has given out 60% more food to those in need. In 2009, over 48,000 grocery orders were filled at the pantry which resulted in over 436,000 meals to our neighbors in need.

The Salvation Army needs the help from businesses, restaurants or churches. Partnering with those that could help provide food, gives The Salvation Army that much more staying power to help the thousands that are coming in need of assistance. Any one that would like to help with a night of feeding for the Meals of Compassion program may call The Salvation Army at 278-1551.