Residents can support community members who are in times of need this weekend.
The WGIL Community Food Drive will send employees of the Galesburg Broadcasting Company to local grocery stores including both Galesburg Hy-Vees, Walmart and County Market in Monmouth.
All donations of non-perishable food items and cash will be accepted to support the FISH food pantry, except food collected in Monmouth that will benefit the Jamieson Center.
For 46 years the FISH pantry has served Knox County.
FISH President Lynne Devlin tells Galesburg’s Morning News on WGIL that the organizaiton depends on the community but people always seem to step up to lend support.
“We have never had to organize a food drive on our own. Somebody’s always stepped up,” Devlin says. “There are groups, organizations, businesses and other social service agencies that say, ‘what can we do? Can we do a food drive?’ And we say absolutely, yes.”
Families can get food as often as every thirty days from the pantry.
Devlin says it’s not like a grocery store, more like a last resource for families facing food emergencies.
They serve about 17,000 people in Knox County every year but Devlin has noticed families coming more frequently.
She says families that they used to see once or twice a year are now coming four of five times.
