Now You Know: Our Daily Bread earns nom; group raises over $1M

Jan 19, 2024

Charity Navigator, one of the nation’s largest nonprofit evaluators, has named Our Daily Bread Food Pantry in the 2023 Community Choice Awards.

The nomination comes as a result of Our Daily Bread Food Pantry’s outstanding achievements, having attained a prestigious four-star rating and earned all four Charity Navigator beacons.

The Community Choice Awards will have one winner in each size-based category: small, medium, large, and super. The determination of the winners will be based on the total number of votes received. Winners will be officially announced on Sept. 27.

“Our Daily Bread Food Pantry (ODBFP) is deeply grateful for this nomination and the continued support from our volunteers, community, donors, and partners. ODBFP remains dedicated to our mission and looks forward to continuing to impact our community positively,” said Liz Pecora, founding member, Our Daily Bread Food Pantry.

To cast your vote and support Our Daily Bread Food Pantry in the Community Choice Awards, visit

bit.ly/VoteODBFP and follow the voting instructions.

Collier Disaster Alliance, Inc., the long-term recovery group representing the areas of Naples, Isles of Capri, Goodland and Marco Island, recently announced that they had surpassed $1M in funding to aid in the recovery of Hurricane Ian impacted individuals and households.

As a result of this achievement, Collier Disaster Alliance can continue to provide substantial assistance to those severely affected by the storm, assisting them in their efforts to repair and rebuild their homes and lives.

Collier Disaster Alliance has made significant progress in aiding our community's uninsured and underinsured members. This assistance includes replacing damaged roofs, installing impact doors and windows, replacing flooring, installing HVAC systems, electrical work, paying contractor costs, and providing building materials.

Collier Disaster Alliance Unmet Needs funding is only administered through our disaster case management partners. If your pre-disaster address was in Collier County and you have Hurricane Ian-related unmet needs, please get in touch with one of the agencies listed below for free assistance:

The United Way of Collier and The Keys: 239-359-8179; St. Vincent de Paul: 941-799-6779.

For more information about Collier Disaster Alliance, to volunteer, or to donate to the recovery, email [email protected] or visit collierdisasteralliance.org.

For the Love of Cats has received a donation of $70 from the Winn Dixie on Marco Island through the store’s Community Bag Program.

Throughout June and July, purchases of the $2.99 Reusable Community Bag each generated a $1 donation to For the Love of Cats.

The Winn Dixie Community Bag Program, which launched in February 2019, is a reusable bag program that facilitates community support with the goal to make a difference in the communities where shoppers live and work.

Keep an eye on your pet while at work, and even dispense treats on demand. That's the premise behind the Furbo pet camera.

Connect this HD camera to your Wi-Fi network, install the free app on your smartphone or tablet, and then kiss your canine goodbye as you leave the house.

Other features include night vision to see your dog in the dark, and a barking alert option, if you'd like to receive notifications to your phone.

Be seen while walking your dog in the dark—that’s the idea behind the NiteDog Rechargeable LED Leash from Nite Ize.

Available in a few colors, including blue or lime green, these 5-foot leashes have two embedded ultra-bright LEDs, which send light through an integrated optical fiber for up to 6.5 hours between charges. When it's time to juice up the leash, simply insert a micro-USB cable (not included) and plug the leash into a computer, AC wall socket, or power strip.

For cat lovers, just like a Roomba can vacuum your floors for you, there are many automatic litter boxes that don’t require scooping, cleaning, or refilling for weeks at a time.

The second-generation ScoopFree Self-Cleaning Litter Box uses disposable trays pre-filled with crystal litter, which is said to quickly absorb urine and dehydrate solid waste to provide fewer odors than regular clumping litter.

An automatic rake sweeps solid waste into the waste trap 20 minutes after your cat uses the litter box, so you never have to see or touch it. If your cat re-enters the box before the cleaning cycle starts, detection sensors automatically reset the rake timer.

Every few weeks you would remove the litter tray, cover with the lid, and dispose of it in the trash.

A health counter keeps track of how many times your favorite feline uses the box.

Tweet about this (toon soon?): Bird lovers need not feel left out of the fun.

Available now for preorder, Bird Buddy: A Smart Bird Feeder is an ideal outdoor gadget for bird aficionados.

Essentially, Bird Buddy is a weatherproof bird feeder with an integrated camera to take up-close photos of airborne visitors, plus it features artificial intelligence that can recognize bird species based both on image and sound.

A companion app keeps a real-time log for you, and automatically organizes species for you into collections.

The battery-powered device should last up to 30 days, says the company, at which time you'll pull out a detachable module and bring into the home to charge up with a USB-C cable (included). A solar model is also for sale for $70 more.

Marc Saltzman contributed to this report.

MoreNow You Know: Details on ‘Waterlily Weekend’ and the next Leadership Collier

And‘Watts for Dinner’: Smooth and healthy sailing at Nautical Bowl