Holiday meal program grows with hard times, more demand

Work on distributing nearly 30,000 holiday meal boxes for the growing number of people in need began in earnest Saturday at the Northern Illinois Food Bank in St. Charles.

About 130 volunteers were on hand to pack the boxes with the precision of a well-tuned assembly line.

Volunteers will work every Saturday into December, as the food bank expects to distribute more than 28,800 meal boxes this holiday season.

That number has grown from the 3,500 distributed in 2001 when the food bank began its holiday meal program. Since that time, the number of people living in poverty in the area served by the food bank has increased by about 50 percent, according to Jarrod Daab, associate director of development for the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

"In 2001, the number was 187,000," said Daab. "Now it's 287,000."

The holiday meal program has grown because more people are hearing about it from staffers at local food pantries, and because of a dramatic increase in need.

The food bank, now in its 25th year, serves 13 counties in northern Illinois and distributes to 528 agencies, including homeless shelters and local pantries.

Daab said the federal government considers a family of four with an annual income of $21,200 to be living in poverty. But those making $30,000 or more are still struggling to survive, he said, especially with spikes in the cost of food and fuel.

Daab added that more middle class families are turning to food pantries, at least temporarily, due to recent economic downturns and widespread layoffs.

"Everybody is feeling it today, especially people who were living on the edge," Daab said. "They are really hurting. This is the one thing that can take some worry off their minds. Everyone deserves a nice meal over the holidays."

One holiday meal box contains a 12- to 14-pound turkey and all the trimmings, including stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, dessert and coffee to feed a family of eight.

The packing work gets done with help from volunteers like Deanna Young of Geneva, who was packing boxes Saturday with some of her fellow employees from CB&I Engineering in Plainfield.

"I like coming here, it feels like I'm giving something back to the community," Young said. She brought her 18-year-old daughter, Lauren. "I like it because I know other people will be able to have a good Thanksgiving."