Belleville food pantry reaches ‘drastic’ levels with high need, low donations

Last week, the storeroom at the Community Interfaith Food Pantry in Belleville was down to 30 cans of corn and its last box of peas.

The usual summer slowdown in donations has hit harder than usual for the pantry, as they have seen a significant increase in families seeking help from last year.

“At this time last year, we were serving 485 families,” said director Jim Young. “At the end of the year it was about 585, and now we’re up to 630 families a month.”

The increase in need is partly due to the lack of a state budget in Illinois, Young said. Some other charitable organizations have had to close their doors, he said, and now the families they were serving are coming to Community Interfaith. Other organizations have seen a significant dropoff in their food donations: for example, a recent drive that usually netted 25,000 pounds of food netted only 8,000 this year, Young said.

“Our main impetus is to give out the food,” Young said. “Our mission is to make sure no child in Belleville or Swansea goes hungry.”

Community Interfaith serves primarily those towns and the Whiteside School District.

In the last week and a half, the food pantry has spent more than $13,000 buying food to make up for the shortage in donations vs. the need, Young said. Buying the food is draining cash reserves, but bare shelves aren’t an option, he said.

“If you’re out of green beans and corn, you might as well close your doors,” he said. “That’s drastic.”

While the massive shopping trip has temporarily restocked the shelves, their next major food drive isn’t until mid-November when the Boy Scouts conduct their Scouting for Food drive, he said.

Items that are always needed include canned fruit and vegetables, soups, stews, meals and other nonperishables. Food that people don’t always think of can include peanut butter and jelly, pasta, spaghetti sauce, cereal, Hamburger Helper-style meals, chicken and dumpings, beef stew, canned meats, paper towels, dish and laundry detergent, and diapers of all sizes.

In the meantime, cash is the fastest way to help, he said. Donations can be made online at feedbelleville.org or mailed to Community Interfaith Food Pantry, 1218 W. Main St., Belleville, IL 62220.

This story was originally published August 22, 2016 at 7:37 PM with the headline "Belleville food pantry reaches ‘drastic’ levels with high need, low donations."