Those who aim to help and serve were on the receiving end of support on Friday at the Illinois Valley Food Pantry.
Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville) of the 14th Illinois Congressional District came to Peru Friday to celebrate the $550,000 in Community Project Funding she secured for the local food pantry.
“I know that what you do is hard work,” Underwood said. “I just want to thank you for all that you do in the community.”
At the Illinois Valley Food Pantry facility, Underwood saw firsthand what the funds are going to be utilized for as part of the pantry’s mission.
“Hunger is off the charts in our communities,” Underwood said. “We want to use these opportunities to help our communities feed those in need with nutritious meals.”
A year after moving into the former site of Hoover’s Manufacturing Company in Peru, the Illinois Valley Food Pantry is now able to better serve the community through more effective operations.
The larger space that more than doubled the area the pantry has to work with came with the promise of new ways to fulfill the pantry’s mission, with more refrigeration, freezing and storage equipment.
The $550,000 in federal funding secured by Underwood will reimburse the pantry for these new amenities and open the door for future improvements.
“There are things on our wishlist that we never thought were possible,” Illinois Valley Food Pantry Executive Director Mary Jo Credi said. “All of a sudden we can with this help.”
The new walk-in, pallet-accessible freezer and cooler allow the pantry to expand their options to help a growing client base in the area.
Depending on the resources available after taking care of what has already been purchased, Credi said that the funds could help the pantry improve its technology and streamline its clientele system, as well as renovate the air conditioning in the building.
The Illinois Valley Food Pantry serves 12 local communities, with both walk-in and delivery services available for those in need, a population that Credi said is growing.
“The need is definitely going up,” Credi said. “We distribute three times a week, and we’re having a new sign-up each time we go out.”
In meeting with the staff and leadership of the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, Underwood acknowledged that there is still work to be done.
“With these funding opportunities we can look at what concrete problems can be solved, and we can look at what we can do for the problems that we always have to deal with,” Underwood said.
Credi echoed this sentiment, saying that the funding allows for the pantry to add equipment for executing its mission, but can not use it for inventory.
“It’s something that is a shame that the community doesn’t understand, and we’re working to make them understand that we can’t use any of this for food,” Credi said. “They see us get this money, and then we see donations curtail after we get some of these opportunities.”
For more information on the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, including how to get involved, visit https://ivfoodpantry.com/.
