In Elgin, the City tells us that 5 percent of households do not have a car, so in addition to welcoming our neighbors at the pantry to shop, Food for Greater Elgin delivers groceries to local residences, neighborhoods, and individuals who otherwise would not have access to affordable food.
Having food at our pantry doesn’t count if hungry people can’t get to it.
If nothing else, COVID-19 has taught us that we are not simply a source of food: Food for Greater Elgin is also a food-delivery system.
This started with delivering food to low income senior living facilities like Elgin Manor, Center City, Union Schoolhouse, Gardiner Place and Central Park Towers. It grew through generous funding from the Illinois Treasurer’s office, Albertsons (Jewel) and Conagra to include low-income neighborhoods were we could be confident that we were assisting poor neighbors who needed it the most.
Then we slowly added individuals who are shut in due to medical condition or disability. (This latter group includes people who are COVID positive and hence quarantined for a week.)
All in all, we spend over $150,000 to provide food to these neighbors of ours.
What unites them is their vulnerability and need of food, and we are proud to say that in this hour of need, we have not—and will not—let them down.
If you’d like to support life-changing programs like this, make a donation today.