Moving pallets of food around inside the new home of the Illinois Valley Food Pantry in Peru got much easier following the gift of a new electric pallet stacker by an anonymous donor.

The purchase of the $12,539 piece of equipment came about when a friend of the pantry learned of its need at the 10,000-square-foot warehouse-style building acquired last summer. It officially opened Oct. 1 at 4133 Progress Blvd.

The donor, who did not want their name publicized, asked that the cash gift be used specifically to buy the pallet stacker.

“Now that we have more space, we need the tools to use it as efficiently as we can,” said Mary Jo Credi, executive director. “The new pallet stacker is a real godsend for the food pantry staff and will help us better serve our clients.”

The Illinois Valley Food Pantry has launched a $750,000 fund drive to pay for its new building and the equipment needed to make optimum use of it.

Donors who want their contributions used for specific items should contact Credi by calling 815-224-3658. Specific needs include walk-in coolers/freezers, a low-profile floor scale, an industrial-size platform scale, a wireless one-color printer, and medium-grade shelving.

Online donations can be made by going to ivfoodpantry.com.