On Thursday, July 12, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Rosecrance will partner with Northern Illinois Food Bank to host its second mobile pantry event this year at the Rosecrance Ware Center (2704 N Main St., Rockford, IL 61103).
The mobile pantry is open to Rosecrance clients and the Rockford community at large. Nutritious meals will be available for 300 families on a first-come, first served basis, while supplies last. Families must bring their own bags or boxes to carry their food.
Northern Illinois Food Bank has two Mobile Pantry trucks which act as “traveling food pantries” to distribute perishable and non-perishable food directly to hungry neighbors across its 13-county service area of Northern Illinois, which includes Winnebago County.
“Our mobile pantry program is so important to the work we do at the Food Bank,” says Jennifer Nau, Director of Communications at Northern Illinois Food Bank. “Mobile pantries not only allow us to deliver food directly to the highest need areas of our communities, but also provides the healthy, nutritious foods our neighbors need to lead healthy lives.”
Rosecrance Recovery Coach Bonnie Gilmore coordinated the first mobile pantry with the Food Bank in January and the event’s success led to an on-going partnership. Approximately 25-30 Rosecrance staff members will volunteer at this event and pass out food to attendees.
Gilmore explained her gratitude for the Food Bank and its donors who enable events like this to come to fruition. “We are very grateful for this opportunity,” said Gilmore. “The goal of this event aligns with the Rosecrance mission—to build healthier communities.”
Seventy-seven percent of households the Food Bank serves had to choose between paying for food and utilities in the past 12 months, and 62 percent had to choose between food and paying for medicine/medical care in the past 12 months.
“We are grateful for the support of community partners like Rosecrance, who are not only helping us solve hunger, but are helping us build healthy communities,” says Nau. “Our goal is to ultimately provide every meal, every day, for every hungry neighbor in every community.”
In 2017, the Food Bank held more than 400 mobile pantry distributions, which provided more than 40,000 households with nutritious meals.