GL Homes conducted building of an unusual kind Monday — and ended up helping relieve hunger.
The mission was for two teams combined from GL Homes communities in Lee and Collier counties to go can-to-can in the annual GL Homes CAN-tastic Competition.
The effort is part of the company's annual Summer of Service initiative with a homebuilding competition to benefit Harry Chapin Food Bank and its mission to end hunger in Southwest Florida. St. Matthew's House in Naples was also a beneficiary of the "homebuilding" efforts.
The two teams were armed with 500 cans of food at Harry Chapin’s Naples Distribution Center on Monday, and each got busy building a miniature home. Their requirements — employ architectural appeal, aesthetics, creativity, innovation, structural integrity and other factors to create a winning design.
GL's "blue" team, which used an American flag as its front door and incorporated a working light, was declared the winner.
But victory also went to the Chapin Food Bank as well as St. Matthew's House.
Richard LeBer, President and CEO of Harry Chapin, said efforts such as the CAN-tastic Competition are a critical and important part of what the food bank does during the hardest time of the year for hunger relief.
"We love it when organizations like GL Homes come out and help us do this kind of thing. They've been doing this for several years now. We really love the partnership," LeBer said. "It enables us to, obviously, gather some food and get some funding."
“We are in a community of great wealth, but we also are in a community that has great need,” said Sarah Alsofrom, vice president of community relations for GL Homes. “Hunger is a 24/7 issue for those who are in need, so our GL Homes volunteers are here to raise awareness for hunger-relief efforts in Southwest Florida.”
Alsofrom also explained why they built the models:
"In Southwest Florida, when the tourists go home, when our volunteers, our snowbirds, go home, the volunteer population dips, and that means it's even more critical for us to raise awareness for hunger relief, and that's why we're here today to kick start our summer of service."
GL Homes donated the building materials — 1,000 cans of food — to Harry Chapin Food Bank, which immediately transported the cans of mixed vegetables, green beans and corn to St. Matthew’s House, one of its agency partners.
GL Homes also presented the food bank with a check for $10,000 to support its mission of ending hunger in Southwest Florida.
About GL HOMES: GL Homes’ philanthropic initiatives support more than three dozen nonprofits across Florida, pinpointing organizations focused on breaking the cycle of homelessness, combatting hunger, and supporting children and education. The CAN-tastic Competition was the third consecutive year the builder hosted a summer of service initiative in partnership with Harry Chapin Food Bank. In 2024, GL Homes held a competition that resulted in 891 meal kits being packed over two hours. In 2023, groups of volunteers packed 3,084 pounds of fresh produce during a three-hour shift.
ABOUT THE FOOD BANK: Harry Chapin Food Bank, the region’s largest hunger-relief organization and the only Feeding America partner food bank in Southwest Florida, serves 250,000 neighbors each month who are experiencing hunger, through mobile food pantries, distribution centers and community events. It’s estimated that one in eight people in Southwest Florida — and one in six children — are food insecure.
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