Will County partners with ShareFest grocery for second food giveaway

Joliet — The office of Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and ShareFest Will County will host a free food giveaway Saturday.

The giveaway will take place at the Will County Office Building at 302 N. Chicago St. in downtown Joliet and is “open to anyone in need of assistance with fresh food and groceries,” according to a statement from Bertino-Tarrant.

According to the event announcement, attendees should enter the Will County Office Building parking lot from Scott Street and drive to where volunteers will pack vehicles with groceries. Registration or approval is not required to receive food at the event.

“ShareFest does an amazing job ensuring that the community has access to fresh and nutritious food options,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “Thank you to all the volunteers who make events like these possible.”

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon or until the supplied food is gone, whichever comes first.

“We’re proud to be partnering with Will County to host this event for the second time in downtown Joliet,” ShareFest Will County founder Gary Cheney said. “Last year, we distributed over 58,000 pounds of food at this location. There clearly remains a need in our community for food assistance.”

ShareFest still needs volunteers to help coordinate the giveaway on-site and pack and sort food at the ShareFest Will County office in New Lenox, at 21715 Moni Drive.

Volunteer jobs include loading food into vehicles, traffic control and setting up and breaking down at the site before and after the event.

Anyone interested in volunteering must sign up in advance at sharefestwillcounty.org.

For information about the event, email the Will County Executive Office at countyexec@willcounty.gov or call 815-740-4601.