Got the winter blues? So do the food pantries in La Salle, Bureau, Putnam counties

Soaring costs and infections mean pantries need volunteers and cash

Antionette Lyons, volunteer at the Illinois Valley Food Pantry sorts through food to distribute to clients on Thursday Jan. 6, 2022 in La Salle. The food pantry had an extremely successful holiday season but is running into some difficulties paying their utility bills.

“We make the cash go 10 times as far as donors could at the grocery store.”

—  Marissa Vicich, executive director of Community Food Basket in Ottawa

How high was your last light bill? Are you spending more these days heating your home and putting gas in the car? The Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle is having the same difficulty.

Mary Jo Credi is executive director of the Illinois Valley Food Pantry and, despite a generous influx of Christmas donations, she could use some help. The issue isn’t a lack of food to distribute, but rather defraying utilities at a time when the furnace is running constantly.

“People were very, very generous during the holidays,” Credi said, renewing her thanks to the pantry’s donors. “We’re doing well there.”

Other food-assistance providers are singing a similar tune. Holiday donations were strong — Streatorland Community Food Pantry and Western Bureau County Food Pantry reported no urgent needs — but the recent snap of bitter cold means steep utility bills soon will arrive in the mail.

Hall Township Food Pantry in Spring Valley is appealing for cash, though not to pay for utilities. Rather, there are a few specific needs yet the continuing pandemic means they cannot accept direct donations of food. Donors are asked to provide cash until such time as we can again personally deliver boxes and cans of food.

Executive director Jan Martin said she needs cash to purchase egg noodles and assorted pasta shapes — she has plenty of spaghetti and elbow macaroni — as well as boxes containing single packets of oatmeal.

Frigid weather has brought on an additional need for Hall Township: Gallon jugs of water. Martin explained households struggling with frozen pipes need large containers for cleaning and to flush their toilets.

The Bureau County Food Pantry can accept direct food donations — there are no handling restrictions — but community services/food pantry manager Vanessa Hoffeditz agreed pantries have excellent purchasing power and that cash is the best way to donate.

“Food is our primary need,” Hoffeditz said. “We receive some other grants to help with our utility costs. We are always looking for volunteers to help us meet the food needs in our community.”

At the Community Food Basket in Ottawa, executive director Marissa Vicich also welcomes cash but her biggest need is manpower. She needs volunteers to drive, mostly on weekday mornings.

While recent fundraisers such as Freezin’ for a Reason brought in much-needed funds, she can buy food more cheaply than any donors and asks for donations via the website, Ottawafoodbasket.org.

“We make the cash go 10 times as far as donors could at the grocery store,” Vicich said.

Mendota Area Christian Food Pantry also needs both cash and volunteers. Director Tracy Cooper said demand for food has risen even as an uptick in COVID-19 infections has thinned out the ranks of volunteers, both of which forced the food pantry to revert to curbside pickup.

“We won’t need as many volunteers this month,” Cooper said, explaining that curbside pickup demands less personnel, “but we will when we return to client’s choice.”

Meanwhile, Cooper needs cash not only to purchase food but to cover the costs of bags and boxes needed for curbside service.

The Putnam County Food Pantry has a different shortage: They need people to come for food. Food pantry manager John Shimkus said his supply of food far exceeds the current demand – there were 18 clients last month, down from an average 80 – and for reasons he can’t pinpoint there aren’t enough takers.