At any given time during the year, as many as 47 million Americans face food insecurity about when their next meal will be and where it will come from. Over 50 million Americans turn to food banks, including the more than 200 banks nationwide that partner with the organization Feeding America, which in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025 distributed 5.7 billion meals and rescued 4.3 billion lbs of produce and groceries.
One of Feeding America’s partners is the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, which has been helping to alleviate hunger for needy local residents since 1983. The company recently broke ground in Fort Myers on a $50 million, 110,175-sf warehouse and distribution Hunger Action Center.
As there still can be a certain stigma attached to relying on a food bank, the new Harry Chapin building is designed to present a welcoming environment absent of any shame, according to Jon Paul Bacariza, AIA, LEED AP, ACHA, Senior Vice President and Tampa Market Leader for Ryan Cos., which is on this project’s Building Team as designer and Architect of Record. “We prioritize the flow and feeling of the food bank environment to ensure that in moments of vulnerability, the design communicates dignity and comfort.”
New DC will double distribution capacity
In an interview with BD+C, Bacariza explained that every dollar spent on this project, that might otherwise go toward acquiring food, had to be justified. “So we stayed away from luxury. It needed to look great without being ostentatious and be cost effective on Day 1.” Domingos Macedo-Garcia, Ryan Cos.’ Director of Architecture/Southeast Region, added that the building design focused on functionality and practicality.
Macedo-Garcia noted, too, that because food bank construction sometimes requires multiple fundraising rounds, it’s important that a project’s vision and goals are firmly established before building begins.
Key design elements of the Fort Myers Hunger Action Center include an interior lobby that keeps two floors of donations on display to convey the purpose of a food bank as a place of service. An accessible pantry resembling a small grocery store allows individuals to carry out their shopping in a dignified manner. And the facility’s blue tones and wood textures create a vibrant but peaceful setting. Large windows let in natural light throughout the space.
According to local news outlets, the Harry Chapin Food Bank distributed 39.5 million lbs of food from its food banks in 2024. The new facility in Fort Myers will nearly double Harry Chapin’s distribution capacity to 80 million lbs, from 45 million last year. The new construction is trying to keep up with the demands in markets this partner serves that are projected to increase to 50 million food lbs by 2030, and to 100 million lbs by 2050.
Plans to build new center in Naples
The new food bank, which will serve residents in five counties and supplement an existing facility in Naples, Fla., is scheduled for completion by the end of 2026. (DeAngelis Diamond is the GC on this project.) The Fort Myers bank will open with 10 truck bays and an inventory tracking system, community meeting space with an onsite kitchen, climate-controlled workspaces, and administrative spaces.
Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida is also in the process of purchasing land in Collier County for the construction of a new food bank in Naples, as market demand has outgrown its existing facility there, says Irma C. Lancaster, Director of Communication and Marketing. The existing facility in Naples is 13,588 sf. “We are looking to double its size to facilitate logistics, add refrigeration, and provide more space for food deliveries and storage,” Lancaster tells BD+C.
About the Author
John Caulfield
John Caulfield is Senior Editor with Building Design + Construction Magazine.