Help fight hunger at Wheaton July 4th Parade

Supplies dwindle at local food pantries during the summer months. The Wheaton Fourth of July Parade provides an opportunity for the community to fill those shelves.

The Shopping Cart Drill Team from St. Matthew United Church of Christ in Wheaton will march in the 2017 Wheaton Fourth of July Parade for the 37th year.

The parade steps off at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 4, on N. Main Street and continues to downtown Wheaton.

During the parade, the Shopping Cart Drill Team collects food and cash donations to benefit the food pantries at the People's Resource Center and the Interfaith Food Pantry.

Many church members are involved, from driving the truck that collects the nonperishable goods and collecting cash along the parade route, to being cheered on by spectators along the parade route as the drill team periodically performs routines to entertain the crowd. All donations directly benefit the two food pantries.

Suggested items to donate include canned vegetables or fruits, soup (canned and mixes), canned tuna or chicken, beans (dry or canned) and rice (dry), baking mixes/pancake mixes, spaghetti sauce and pasta, peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, high nutrition cereal, personal care items (like toothpaste, deodorant and shampoo), laundry detergent, diapers (sizes 4, 5 and 6) and baby formula.

For details, visit www.stmatthewucc.org.