Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle and Illinois Valley Public Action to Deliver Shelter in Peru are holding a food drive today through Nov. 19 as part of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
The drive is designed to make lunches more nutritious for people served by the shelter and the pantry.
Suggested donations include peanut butter, jelly, sugar-free jelly, applesauce cups, fruit cups, Jell-O cups, pudding cups, individually-packaged chips, cookies and crackers, granola bars, juice boxes and bottled water.
“Today and tomorrow we’re dropping off containers for the food items and then we’ll pick them up later in the month,” said Donna Hess, executive director of the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, on Friday.
Illinois Valley Public Action to Deliver Shelter, aka PADS, packs up to 720 sack lunches for the homeless every month. Illinois Valley Food Pantry provides food to 1,700 people a month, according to a press release. Both organizations offer opportunities to volunteer.
Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is designed to educate the public, spotlight poverty, and attract volunteers and supporters for anti-poverty agencies. This observance was first held in 1975 at Villanova University.
THE PANTRY
Illinois Valley Food Pantry, established in 1982, is at 136 Marquette St. in La Salle, (815) 224-3658, www.ivfoodpantry.com. The pantry office is open 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Regular food pickup hours are 9 a.m. to noon Monday and Friday and 3-6 p.m. Wednesday. The pantry serves people in La Salle, Peru, Oglesby, Utica, Cedar Point, Lostant, Tonica, Leonore and Lowell.
The pantry is getting ready to give out Thanksgiving food baskets to an estimated 1,600-1,700 people on Saturday, Nov. 18. If interested in receiving a food basket, go to the pantry and sign up if you are already a client. If not, apply at the pantry office. You will be asked for proof of residency but the pantry will not turn away the needy. The deadline to sign up is Wednesday, Nov. 15. Deliveries to the home-bound elderly in La Salle, Peru and Oglesby will be Monday, Nov. 20. For the baskets, the pantry is looking for donations of instant potatoes, boxed stuffing mix, canned vegetables, canned fruit, corn muffin mix, canned yams, turkey and Jell-O.
THE SHELTER
This is the 26th year of operation for Illinois Valley Public Action to Deliver Shelter. It operates two homeless shelters, one at 1320 Menards Drive, Peru, (815) 224-3047, email perupads@gmail.com, and another one in Ottawa. 1120 Canal St., (815) 433-1292, email ottawapads@gmail.com. PADS is supported by a second-hand resale store, Lily Pads, at 4471 Progress Blvd., Peru, (815) 224-7970, lilypadsresaleboutique@yahoo.com.
The shelters are open for the homeless September through May. Last season, PADS served 357 people including 75 children.
To help PADS with its holiday wish list, log onto http://ift.tt/2zDVCxW.
Jeff Dankert can be reached at (815) 220-6977 or lasallereporter@newstrib.com. Follow him on Twitter @NT_LaSalle.
