GIVING BACK
FEEDING PEOPLE. NOURISHING LIVES.
ARTICLE STEFANIE EDWARDS & AUBREY SEWELL
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PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMITTED BY COMMUNITY COOPERATIVE
AN ORGANIZATION WHO CARES AND SERVES
Fort Myers Lifestyle | October 2020
COMMUNITY COOPERATIVE IS SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A SOUP KITCHEN, EVEN THOUGH THAT IS WHAT IT IS MOST WELLKNOWN FOR. Its overall goal is to support and strengthen 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. In the early 1970’s, First Presbyterian Church and two other downtown Fort Myers churches saw that there was a need in the community to serve the downtown area’s homeless and hungry. They began passing out peanut butter & jelly sandwiches out of their cars, which then evolved into the idea to start an organization. In 1984, the Fort Myers Soup Kitchen was formed and thus began the evolution to what we know today as Community Cooperative.