Your turn: Hunger campaign highlights how great the need is
“To my mayor. For the hungry.”
That handwritten message was on an envelope that included a $20 donation and was recently given to Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara. The citizen who made the donation heard about the Mayor’s Hunger Campaign and wanted to help.
How awesome was that? Neighbors helping each other is how we make this community better.
The $20 cash donation inside that envelope is worth $40 because of a generous match challenge by an anonymous benefactor. The benefactor will match up to $15,000 in donations. The deadline for the match is Sept. 8 (Friday) so there’s not a lot of time left.
The need in our community is so great that even members of other nonprofit organizations, who have seen plenty of people who need help, are surprised by the numbers.
Your turn: Meet the challenge! Mayor’s Hunger Campaign needs your help
The Rock River Valley Pantry, the largest of the nine in the Greater Rockford Pantry coalition, saw a 153 percent increase in the number of households served from July 2022 to this July. That wasn’t a typo. It was a 153 percent increase.
The number of total individuals served is even more alarming: an increase of 187 percent. Rock River Valley Pantry helped 5,570 individuals put good, nutritious food on their table in the month of July alone.
The other eight pantries in the coalition, which is the beneficiary of the Mayor’s Hunger Campaign, have seen huge increases as well. Rock River Valley Pantry is the largest so its numbers are more indicative of how widespread food insecurity is in our community.
Eighty-two percent of the individuals who go to a pantry are working but don’t have enough money to pay rent, utilities and other basic needs. They constantly worry that they won’t be able to provide enough food for their families.
Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but here’s another one that shows how many people in our community are hurting: 15.8 percent or about 44,800 people in Winnebago County experience food insecurity.
Statistics are one thing, but the stories that I have been told by volunteers at the pantries are what inspired me to get involved in the Mayor’s Hunger Campaign.
Men and women are in tears because they never thought they would need assistance. It’s a humbling experience that no one should have to go through.
Raising money is not the only goal of the campaign. We also want to educate the public on how much their neighbors are struggling. Please check out the Mayor’s Hunger Campaign on Facebook. Each week one of the nine local pantries that make up the coalition is highlighted. Included is information about what your money can buy to help support those who rely on a pantry to feed their families.
You may remember that the campaign started out as the Mayor’s Hunger Luncheon, an event that drew hundreds of people for many years. COVID derailed the physical event so we only conducted a virtual campaign the last three years.
However, this year we’re bringing back an event: The Mayor’s Hunger Campaign breakfast will be Sept. 26 at the indoor Rockford City Market. Doors will open at 7 a.m. and breakfast, provided by Greenfire, will be served at 7:30.
Hand-made bowls crafted by our neighbors at Womanspace will be on each table and can be bought for $23. All proceeds go to help the pantries.
Tickets are $20 and are available through Eventbrite at mhcn.us/breakfast.
An event and a campaign will not solve the long-term problem of food insecurity. People need access to better education and better jobs.
But in the meantime, we should do what we can.
Go to greaterrockfordpantrycoalition.com, click on “DONATE.” Or mail your check to: Greater Rockford Pantry Coalition (GRPC), PO Box 17051, Rockford , IL 61110.
Wally Haas is executive director of Transform Rockford. His email address is whaas@transformrockford.org.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Your turn: Hunger campaign highlights how great the need is
