A community effort involving businesses, residents and volunteers made a recent donation to the West Chicago Neighborhood Food Pantries possible. The money, which was raised at the City of West Chicago’s Frosty Fest event in December through participant donations for a cookie decorating activity, was matched by FNBC Bank & Trust of West Chicago and presented on January 4, 2018 to Ken Walker, Site Coordinator and Nancy Andrews, Assistant Site Coordinator of Neighborhood Food Pantries at 525 N. Neltnor Blvd. in West Chicago.
The activity, which encouraged a $1 participation donation, invited children to add icing and a variety of confectionary toppings to create a one of a kind edible treat at the event. The kid-friendly activity has been a fun and festive way to enjoy a holiday tradition while helping those less fortunate through the donations to the local food pantry.
Nancy Perillo, Branch Manager from FNBC Bank & Trust, Karen Stott, Teller Manager from FNBC Bank & Trust, Bethany Bayci, Special Events Coordinator for the City of West Chicago, and Adrian Marquez, City of West Chicago Community Outreach Specialist, visited the facility to present checks totaling $654.00. Monetary donations like the ones from Frosty Fest are used by Neighborhood Food Pantries to purchase food from the Northern Illinois Food Bank, and are especially helpful because they provide eight times the purchase power through the Food Bank.
Last month, Neighborhood Food Pantries in West Chicago received 838 visitors. While the winter holidays bring in many needed donations, the need continues throughout the year. According to Andrews, paper goods and diapers are desperately needed at this time.
Anyone interested in volunteering or making a donation can contact Andrews at (630) 605-0887 or can visit the facility. Volunteer hours are flexible based on availability and areas of interest.
