When a fast-but-furious storm recently knocked out power across much of the north suburbs, about 900 pounds of meat stored at Emmanuel Faith Food Pantry in North Chicago had to be tossed.
And after the July 11 storm left the People Lending Assistance Network in Round Lake without electricity, the pantry lost two freezers and one refrigerator full of food meant for local people in need.
Dozens of other area pantries were left in similar situations, officials say. Add to that hundreds of families with increased needs after the storm cleared their homes of what little perishable food they had, and the situation could have been dire for Lake County food centers.
But pantries across the county worked together, pooling food, volunteers and resources to weather the week-long after-effects of the storm.
Christian Outreach of Lutherans in Waukegan, one of few food pantries in the area lucky enough to have kept power for most of the week, was inundated by families that usually rely on other area food pantries, said Director Diane Thackston.
“We figure we were really blessed here in the middle of this power outage, right on the front lines of Waukegan,” Thackston said. “Some of the others were shut down, without power, so they sent in their extra people to us.”
The pantry, which typically sees about 100 people each day, saw up to a 50 percent increase as families struggled to find food while the power was out.
Northern Illinois Food Bank, a regional center that distributes food to local pantries in 13 counties, sent all the food it collected from retail grocery stores Thursday to Christian Outreach of Lutherans in an attempt to replenish its quickly-emptying shelves. That included 25 boxes of frozen meat, 49 boxes of breads and pastries, 13 boxes of fresh produce, 15 boxes of dairy items and 17 boxes of dry foods.
“People have been happy today because we were able to let them help themselves to bakery goods and fresh salad mixings – things people didn’t have a lot of,” Thackston said. “What we still need right now are things that don’t perish.”
People who rely on Emmanuel Faith in North Chicago also got the food they needed because of an emergency delivery from the food bank, said Pastor Trudy Griffins.
The pantry’s food supply was heavily depleted by the power outage, including but not limited to the 900 pounds of frozen meat it lost. After power was restored, the food bank replaced the meat and provided more than 2,000 pounds of breads and pastries for Faith Emmanuel to distribute to its community Thursday.
“When we saw the Northern Illinois Food Bank truck pull up, we were cheering,” Griffins said.
People Lending Assistance Network Director Mike Pimpo said his Round Lake Beach-based pantry has seen at least a 20 percent increase in people coming through its doors this week. The pantry was without power for a few days earlier in the week, but was able to continue helping people once power was restored.
“We’re seeing a lot more people from the areas where they still have power out,” Pimpo said. “And we know we’ve got a lot more people and numbers coming yet. They need stuff to eat that they can’t store in their fridge.”
A truck from Northern Illinois Food Bank was set to roll up Friday afternoon with replenishments, including snack-type foods that Pimpo could send home with families without power.
“Our agency partners have done a tremendous job of working together to ensure needy families have food during this emergency situation,” said Northern Illinois Food Bank President Peter Schaefer. “This week proved that feeding our hungry neighbors is definitely a team effort.”
To help provide food to those in need in Lake County, call Northern Illinois Food Bank at 630-443-6910. For every dollar donated, the food bank can provide six meals to those in need. Volunteers are also needed to sort and repack food at Northern Illinois Food Bank’s Park City, St. Charles and Rockford locations. Those who are in need of food can also call the food bank to be directed to the nearest food pantry. More information is available at www.northernilfoodbank.org.
