Local food pantries in west central Illinois are getting help from an unexpected place this fall: students. When one pantry asked for help this year, United Way of West Central Illinois didn’t just write a check. It turned to students. As the Galesburg Register-Mail reported, high school and college students across Henderson, Knox, Mercer and Warren counties are running a food drive from Oct. 5 through Nov. 5.
It’s a small story. It’s also a clear picture of why local food pantries matter, and why they can’t do it alone.
How the drive works
Schools pick their own format: grade against grade, team against team, club against club, or the whole campus. United Way sets weekly donation themes and handles pickup, inventory and delivery. Participating schools include districts in Galesburg, Knoxville, Monmouth-Roseville, Mercer County and more, along with Carl Sandburg College, Knox College and Monmouth College.
The best part is where the food goes. Every donation stays in the county where it was collected. Fish Food Pantry, Jamieson Community Center, Family Outreach Community Center and Mercer County Food Pantry receive it, then share it with smaller pantries using a formula from River Bend Food Bank.
Why local food pantries in rural counties need help
According to Feeding America reports cited in the announcement, nearly 90% of the Illinois counties with the highest food insecurity rates are rural, even though rural counties hold a smaller share of the state’s people. The reasons are familiar: higher food prices, cuts to government support, and long drives to get anywhere.
Local food pantries know their neighbors. They know which families just lost a job, which seniors can’t drive into town, and which kids count on school meals and go without on weekends. A national program can ship food; a local pantry knows where it should go. That’s why a drive like this one, where every can stays in the county, does more good than it might seem.
In a rural county, the closest full grocery store can be a long trip away. The local pantry, run out of a church basement or a community center, is often the most reliable source of food a family has. When that pantry’s shelves run low, there isn’t a backup down the street.
United Way’s director said local pantries are already seeing more residents in need this year. That’s what we hear almost everywhere.
Feeding people isn’t a religious thing
Meals N Feelz started with fidya, the Islamic practice of feeding someone in need when you can’t fast. That’s our root, and we’re proud of it. But look at who’s running this drive: public schools, colleges, a United Way and a regional food bank. Hunger doesn’t check anyone’s faith, and neither should the help. A hungry neighbor is a hungry neighbor.
And let’s be honest about what a food drive is. It’s a patch, not a fix. In a country this wealthy, no family should have to rely on a student’s canned-food competition to eat. Until that changes, local pantries are what stand between a hard month and an empty table.
How you can help
- In Henderson, Knox, Mercer or Warren counties? Get your school, team or club involved through United Way of West Central Illinois before Nov. 5.
- Anywhere else? Find the food bank that serves your area with Feeding America’s food bank locator, and ask what your local food pantries need most right now.
- Join the movement. Add your name to Fuel the Launch.
Meals N Feelz is building a community of people who want to fund trusted local food programs like these.
We’re not asking for money. When it’s time to launch, we’ll only ask for $3. Every name tells a local pantry it isn’t alone.