Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council 5K walk to fight hunger Sunday

The Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council is holding a 5K walk Sunday benefit hungry families in the Northwest suburbs.

The fifth iWalk will take place at 2:15 p.m., with registration beginning at 1:15 p.m., in the parking lot of St. Mary Parish, 10 N. Buffalo Grove Road, Buffalo Grove. The route will stretch from St. Mary to Hope Lutheran Church in Long Grove, where there will be music and refreshments, and then back to St. Mary.

The council's mission is to foster understanding among the different faiths in the community, while also encouraging and participating in social service efforts. Members come from 11 places of worship in Arlington Heights, Wheeling, Buffalo Grove and Prospect Heights.

There is no entry fee for the walk, but cash or check donations on the day of the event are encouraged. Over the years, the council has raised about $25,000 through the event, with proceeds supporting food pantries at St. Mary, Kingswood Methodist Church in Buffalo Grove, Congregation Beth Am in Buffalo Grove and St. Alphonsus Liguori Church in Prospect Heights.

Council representative Richard Rosen told the Buffalo Grove board this week that with the help of local post offices, the Buffalo Grove Park District and the Buffalo Grove Fire Department, the organization has collected more than 10,000 canned goods for the four food pantries, which serve more than 1,000 people in the Northwest suburbs.

This is a time of year when the demands on pantries are highest because school is out, Rosen said.

"The funds coming into these pantries are the lowest, because we don't have the High Holiday-type things, we don't have the Easter or the Thanksgiving, where people normally give money to it," he added.