Aurora food drive hopes to double past success

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Alexa Hernandez, 2, holds onto her mother Maria Barraza, both of Aurora, while waiting in line for the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry to open. | Marianne Mather~Sun-Times Media

Aurora food pantry marks
30 years

The Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry was first incorporated in 1981, making this its 30th year of operation.

To celebrate, there will be a 30th anniversary Thanksgiving gala from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. Nov. 5 at Pipers Banquets in Aurora.

Tickets are $75 each, or $750 for a table of 10.

Individuals or companies also can buy sponsorships and program book ads, or can donate silent auction items, by visiting the pantry’s website, www.aurorafoodpantry.org, or calling 630-897-2127.

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Updated: January 23, 2012 3:59AM

AURORA — When U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin visited here last week to hear from social service agencies, there were lots of alarming facts and figures tossed around. But there was one statistic that nearly stopped the meeting.

Christopher Strupp, manager of public policy for the Northern Illinois Food Bank, told the senator that last month, 40 percent of the food his organization received from the federal government was figs.

“Figs?” Durbin said, turning his head to the side, quizzically, then pausing to process. “Like ... fresh figs?”

Yes, fresh figs — the small, green fruit about the size of an apple that grows most frequently in southwest Asia. It’s the same fruit that the Bible says provided leaves for Adam and Eve to wear.

And while the Valley Fig Growers Association touts the fruit’s nutritional value, it is somewhat impractical for a food pantry.

Marilyn Weisner, Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry director, can attest to that.

At Aurora Interfaith, the September federal food distribution was 2,000 pounds of beef stew, 3,000 pounds of chicken and 2,000 pounds of figs. By the end of September, the chicken and beef stew were gone, while there are still plenty of figs left.

The Interfaith staff has been sending clients home with fig recipes and fig ideas, with minimal success.

“To be honest, we have a lot clients that just don’t know what to do with them,” said Weisner. “They don’t like them.”

Need growing

The fig issue illustrates just one of the problems facing food pantries like Aurora’s. But it also gives a glimpse into the most basic problem food pantries are facing: there are more people who need help to feed their families, and less food to give them.

“Unfortunately, the need is greater than ever,” said Dan Dolan, of Dolan & Murphy in Aurora, who is an organizer of the Aurora Holiday Food Drive.

In this atmosphere, the Holiday Food Drive begins its fourth straight year. It starts Nov. 1 and runs through Thanksgiving Day. The drive is designed to stock the shelves of the Interfaith Food Pantry so it doesn’t run out of food at a time when the number of households served has jumped by almost 1,000 in one year, and there is less help from the state and federal governments.

“That’s why this is hugely important,” Weisner said.

Government cuts

The numbers say it all. In August 2011, the Interfaith Food Pantry served 2,855 households, compared to 1,959 in August 2010. The number of bags of food distributed jumped to 4,939 from 3,202 over that same time period.

But beginning in June, and continuing through July and August, the total number of pounds of food given out, as compared to pounds received, has gone down dramatically. For those three months, the pantry gave out more than 140,000 pounds of food each month, while receiving just over 100,000 pounds of food in June, and less than 100,000 pounds in July and August.

One of the reasons is that food received from the government has gone down. The state already has told food pantries across Illinois not to expect anything from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, of TANF, program.

The federal government informed the Aurora pantry it would take a 40 percent cut in the emergency food and shelter grant. That money usually comes in April and August, but Weisner said Aurora has not gotten its August installment at all.

Jewel joins in

If food pantries get less from the government, they need more donations to make up for it.

“Otherwise, we give out less per family,” Weisner said.

This is one reason Dolan said the Holiday Food Drive this year has made its goal to collect double the 55 pallets of food it collected last year.

One way organizers hope to do that is with another store participating in the drive. The Jewel Food Store at 1157 N. Eola Road (Eola and North Aurora roads) this year will join Cermak Fresh Market, 1250 N. Lake St., and Prisco’s Fine Foods, 1108 Prairie St., as sponsors and participants in the drive.

During the drive, between Nov. 1 and 23, people can purchase pre-assembled bags of food at a cost of $5, $10 and $15 at each of the stores. They buy the pre-made bags, which are on display at the store, as they go through the regular shopping lane. The bags then are collected, and volunteers pick them up as they fill a box at the front of each store.

Volunteers also spend several days a week at the stores, handing out fliers to shoppers as they enter, telling them about the pre-made bags.

“The success of this is the pre-made bags,” Weisner said.

Volunteers needed

The success also depends on the volunteers, who are organized by Cheryl Kessler at the Dolan & Murphy office.

In the past, food drive volunteers have included people from all walks of life, Kessler said, including moms, kids, high school kids and retirees. Aurora firefighters have spent their off-duty time, using their own trucks to pick up bags from the stores and take them to shelter or the warehouse.

“We’re hoping to get clubs and groups who can volunteer to take a whole day at all the stores,” Kessler said.

Volunteers should call Kessler at 630-801-8800.

Food Drive sponsors this year include: Dolan & Murphy; The Beacon-News; Douglas Carpet One & Big Bob’s; Prisco’s Fine Foods; the River 95.9 FM radio; Cano Container Corp.; Cermak Fresh Market; and Jewel Foods.