With Thanksgiving just around the corner, a local food pantry is asking for help filling their shelves. Yellow barrels started popping up all over Will and DuPage counties last week, in hopes the community will fill them with enough food for those who might otherwise go without this Thanksgiving holiday. They call it “Harvest Week.”
“That’s what food pantries are there for. To be that net to help people make it through day-to-day,” Sarah Corbin is with the West Suburban Community Food Pantry. “Every year our numbers really increase around the holidays.”
For CEO Sue Armato, Harvest Week is a personal one.
“When I was a little girl, we struggled financially and we were dependent on being able to have help from food pantries and if it weren’t for those good kind people, we wouldn’t have had a holiday meal at all,” she said.
“We never want to run out of food, so the Harvest drive is really our opportunity to make sure we are packed and ready for that huge Saturday right before Thanksgiving,” Corbin said
“You’re not just giving food, you’re giving hope,” Armato said. “You’re allowing people the chance to during very dark times, you’re allowing them to feel the very same joy that you will have at your holiday table.”
This last year West Suburban Community Food Pantry has helped than 110,000 people fill their carts, their biggest numbers to date.
“I hope people can connect the power of this because it is so much more than food,” Armato said.
Harvest Week runs through the weekend.
Participation Locations Include:
Fountaindale Public Library – 300 W. Briarcliff Rd., Bolingbrook
Bolingbrook Park District, Recreation and Aquatic Complex – 200 Lindsey Ln., Bolingbrook
Bolingbrook Park District, Annerino Community Center – 201 Recreation Dr., Bolingbrook
Downers Grove Park District, Recreation Center – 4500 Belmont Rd., Downers Grove
Downers Grove Park District, Lincoln Center – 935 Maple Ave., Downers Grove
GreenState Credit Union-Naperville – 1260 Book Rd., Naperville
GreenState Credit Union-Plainfield – 13440 Rt. 59, Plainfield
GreenState Credit Union-Westmont – 6495 S. Cass Ave., Westmont
NorthStar Wealth Group – 6435 Main St., Suite 160, Woodridge
Woodridge Public Library – 3 Plaza Dr., Woodridge
Other Locations:
ARC – Woodridge: Saturday Nov. 4th 7:00am – 1:00pm
8201 Janes Ave, Woodridge, IL 60517
St Luke Presbyterian: Sunday, Nov. 5th from 8:00am-2:00pm
5235 Fairview Ave, Downers Grove, IL 60515
Naperville Sunrise Rotary: Friday, Nov. 10th from 8:00am – 10:00am
25W570 Chicago Ave., Naperville, IL 60540-5835
First Congregational UCC: Sunday/Monday Nov. 12th-13th from 11:00am – 1:00pm
25 E Benton Ave, Naperville, IL 60540
Most needed items: Holiday Food, Tuna, Canned Chicken, Low Sugar Canned Fruit, Low Sodium Canned Vegetables, Spices, Beans, Rice, Salad Dressing, Condiments, Other Non-Perishable Foods, Books (English, Spanish, Ukranian, Arabic), Baby Diapers & Wipes
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