Carol Stream drive set to collect tons of food

Don't be surprised if you see dozens of people fiddling with doorknobs this week in Carol Stream.

Volunteers will be fanning out across neighborhoods to tie empty plastic blags on door handles in preparation for the Rotary Club of Carol Stream's annual Communitywide Food Drive.

Participating in the drive is simple: Fill up the bag with canned goods and toiletries, leave it by your mailbox and voila!

On April 16, those volunteers will be back to pick up the items and deliver them to Glenbard North High School, where they will be packed on trucks bound for six area food pantries.

"Everybody does a little and it adds up to a lot," says Luanne Triolo Newman, chairwoman of the seventh annual drive.

Indeed, about 7½ tons went to pantries last year. The six are: Bloomingdale Township Food Pantry; Humanitarian Service Project in Carol Stream; Interfaith Food Pantry at the Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream; Milton Township Food Pantry in Wheaton; Neighborhood Food Pantries at the Lutheran Church of the Master in Carol Stream; and Wayne Township Food Pantry in West Chicago.

In addition to homes, donations also are collected at schools, businesses, park district facilities and Carol Stream Public Library.

The effort directly benefits seniors and families in DuPage and Kane counties, says Kristin Senne, executive director of the Humanitarian Service Project. Every month, the Carol Stream nonprofit provides about 6½ tons of groceries just for seniors, many of whom are homebound and on fixed incomes.

"It's incredibly important that we're here to help serve our neighbors, and we need the help of the community to do it," Senne said.

In addition to 133 senior clients, the group distributes about 30 tons of food for families over three months of the summer, Senne said.

"It helps a lot," Senne said of the drive, "but we definitely rely on a lot of support to serve everybody every month."

For the Wayne Township Food Pantry in West Chicago, the drive stocks the shelves with more specialty items such as gluten- and sugar-free food, Director Juanita Martinez said. Last year, food packed in two trucks provided three months worth of groceries for close to 400 families, she said.

"It was just a wide assortment of needed products," Martinez said.

Newman, also executive director of the chamber of commerce, says more volunteers are need to help deliver the plastic bags to homes.

So far, more than 40 volunteers have signed up to visit 2,670 addresses, but the Rotary hopes to reach 3,000 from Saturday through Monday.

Volunteers can pick up the bags from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at village hall, 500 N. Gary Ave.

Glenbard North students helped attach fliers to the bags with a list of instructions and needed items, including canned fruit, veggies, meats, cereal and pasta.

Bags of food should be left by mailboxes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 16.

Donors also can drop off items at Glenbard North, where they will be get a "thank you" note from students in Interact club, the high school equivalent of Rotary, Newman said.

"It's very rewarding both for the volunteers and for the pantries in need," she said.

If you go

What: Rotary Club of Carol Stream's Communitywide Food Drive

When: Drop off items from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 16

Where: Glenbard North High School, 990 Kuhn Road, Carol Stream

Info: (630) 665-3325