CARBONDALE, Ill. — September marks hunger action month, a national campaign held every year to raise awareness and inspire action to end hunger in America. With prices rising at the grocery store and the government cutting back on food stamps, some people are finding it hard to put food on their plates.
Nathan Cherry directs the Victory Dream Center food pantry in Carbondale, and sees the areas need for food support every day.
Nathan Cherry unloads a truck full of food into the victory dream center’s new facility.
Ethan Williams
“We have a lot of people that are homeless or extremely low income, and especially now that a lot of people’s link has been cut pretty far back over the last few months, the need is really great,” Cherry said.
The center is open twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays and provides relief to hundreds of people.
“Each day that we’re open, we serve between 150 and 200 families,” Cherry said.
Cherry said that the pantry started 16 years ago after being run out of the New Room Global Methodius Church and has been growing ever since.
“We got connected with St. Louis Area Food Bank in 2010, and it just kind of grew and grew and grew from there to become what it is today,” Cherry said.
Starting just this year the pantry was relocated into a building next to the church to hold more food and provide more options for people in need. Some of the pantry’s food comes from donations by local people and stores in Southern Illinois.
Boxes off food reach the ceiling at the victory dream center.
Ethan Williams
“We do get two trucks every month from St. Louis Food Bank, and they bring their semi-truck down, and most of that is donated food. Some of that we purchase from St. Louis,” Cherry said. “Some of it’s through the Illinois TEFAP program, which is like the government’s state commodities. And then we also pick up at some local grocery stores,”
He said allowing families to choose what they want to eat is important.
Dozens of food options available for people in need at victory dream center.
Ethan Williams
“Seeing people on the streets or maybe families with kids who don’t have much of anything, being able to come and fill up their grocery cart, they get to pick what they want…. It’s a cool feeling,” Cherry said.
For those interested in donating food, money, or volunteering their services at at the Victory Dream Center, visit their website.
