The 18th annual Sam Galloway, Jr. & Friends Soup Kitchen Benefit for Community Cooperative will be held May 6 at the service garages of Sam Galloway Ford in Fort Myers. The evening features a southern-style dinner prepared by local restaurants and businesses as guests raise much-needed funds to support those struggling with hunger and homelessness.
The date was rescheduled from March so the Community Cooperative team can continue to work tirelessly to provide food for the community still struggling with unemployment and the effects of the pandemic, including increasing deliveries of Meals on Wheels and restarting veterans-only food pantries in addition to other mobile food pantries held throughout the county.
“The annual Soup Kitchen Benefit is an integral part of our annual fundraising, so cancelling the event is not an option for us,” said Tracey Galloway, chief executive officer of Community Cooperative. “We are a key support organization to a community that has tens of thousands of people that rely on us to remain housed and fed on a daily basis. Fundraising dollars are what keeps our doors open. Thankfully we have a wonderful host site that has many acres of outdoor space and semi-enclosed facilities that provide us many options for hosting a fun and safe event for everyone involved.”
Sam Galloway, Jr. and friends from downtown Fort Myers churches began feeding the hungry and homeless after Sunday services more than 45 years ago. It resulted in the founding of Community Cooperative (still referred to as the Soup Kitchen), a nonprofit grassroots organization that continues to develop innovative solutions to eliminate hunger and homelessness in Lee County.
The popular annual event, which last year raised a record $1 million on March 5, 2020 helped thousands of men, women and children in Lee County. Within weeks of the event, Community Cooperative converted the Soup Kitchen to takeout only and took food pantry efforts on the road, eventually tripling the number of pantries and amount of people served as unemployment rose in response to the pandemic.
Considering COVID-19, Community Cooperative will be taking necessary precautions and following CDC guidelines at the event to ensure the safety of participants. Tickets will be sold by table only with a Soup Bowl table for 10 attendees for $5,000 and a Soup Spoon table for 8 attendees for $2,500.
For information, visit CommunityCooperative.com, or call 239-332-7687 ext. 101.
About Community Cooperative
For more than 35 years, Community Cooperative has worked to effectively eliminate hunger and homelessness in Lee County while simultaneously inspiring and supporting sustained positive change in its clients by delivering innovative food, education and social service programs. With a dedicated team of volunteers, board of directors and staff, Community Cooperative stays committed to its core responsibility to collect and distribute resources through a strong and viable network of community partners. Community Cooperative is an exemplary steward of the resources entrusted to it and serves clients with compassion and integrity. Through collaboration and ongoing education, Community Cooperative supports and strengthens those whose lives have been affected by hunger and homelessness, ensuring that they have access to the resources necessary to transform their lives with dignity. For more resources and information on how to get involved, contact Stefanie Edwards at Stefanie@CommunityCooperative.com or call (239) 332-7687. Monetary donations are always welcomed and can be made directly at www.CommunityCooperative.com, or mailed to: Community Cooperative, P.O. Box 2143, Fort Myers, FL 33902.
