7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Service Groups Unite for FISH Food Drive
Members of the Galesburg Noon Lions Club, Galesburg Noon Rotary Club, Galesburg Kiwanis Club and Galesburg Exchange Club will be joining efforts to collect food items for FISH, the Galesburg Area food pantry, on Saturday, September 13th, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Collection locations will be: Hy-Vee on Henderson Street, Hy-Vee on East Main Street, Wal-Mart Supercenter, and Hi-Lo on South Seminary Street.

With food prices on the rise, more and more local residents are going to FISH for assistance. While FISH is doing everything it can to help those in need, the pantry shelves are desperately low.

According to Ray Keegan, past FISH president, the nearly 20,000 pounds of food collected in May by the mail carriers was all gone by July 1st. In August, 1,100 people were served. FISH expects to serve approximately 10,000 people in need this calendar year, which is roughly one-third of Galesburg's population.

"The need is greater this year than ever," says Keegan. "We surely appreciate this food drive and the generosity of Hy-Vee, Wal-Mart and Hi-Lo in allowing the four service clubs to do it."

On September 13th, service club volunteers are asking community members to donate non-perishable food items for the pantry. Cash donations are also welcome, and will be used to purchase food items. Items most needed for the FISH food pantry include: tuna, chili, spaghetti sauce, canned corn, canned fruit, macaroni & cheese, pork & beans, Spaghettio's, peanut butter, green beans, soup, baked beans, spaghetti, jelly, peas, soda crackers and dry rice.

In 2007, the Galesburg Noon Lions Club held its first-annual FISH Food Drive on September 29th. The Club collected over 2,000 pounds of food and $1,000 in cash donations. Volunteers are excited about the opportunity to work with members of other Galesburg service clubs to make this year's event even more successful.

"It is a genuine pleasure to experience the kind of enthusiasm we are receiving from the Lions, Rotarians, Kiwanians and Exchange Club members," says Bob Clark, president of the Galesburg Noon Lions Club. "We're thrilled to work together on September 13th to serve those in need in our community."

(Submitted by Galesburg Lions Club)
09 08 08 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.