Algonquin Hunger Hustle to help stock local food pantry

It's time to do the hustle - the Hunger Hustle - in Algonquin.

The inaugural 5K, scheduled for Aug. 30, will raise food and money for the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Food Pantry that has seen its supply dwindle, due to the increased number of families asking for food.

Traditionally, summer is the hardest time to keep the shelves restocked, because the schools that operate food drives are closed, although some local businesses have stepped up to help, said board member Mary Terese Piemonte.

In most cases, food is leaving much faster than it is coming in and Piemonte estimates between 90 and 120 families pass through the food pantry every week.

"We're definitely dealing with a lot more families than we have in the past," she said. "It's nothing for us to have 30 and 40 families, and that's within an hour window."

Algonquin resident Carol Platt has volunteered at the 9-year-old pantry periodically since last fall. One day in June she noticed some of the shelves were bare.

In response, she organized a food drive at the local Jewel on July 5, collecting eight carts of food and $400.

While there, a running buddy of her husband suggested organizing a summer race. Carol Platt and her husband, Robin, put two and two together and decided to plan a race that would benefit the food pantry - the two are avid volunteers.

"It's something we do, I guess, just because we can," Carol Platt said.

Robin Platt belongs to the 50-member Algonquin Running Group, which also puts on the 5K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning that he also coordinates.

He and the running group will organize the Hunger Hustle as well.

The course begins and ends at Lifetime Fitness center and will take participants down Stonegate Road to County Line Road and then back to the center.

The race is open to walkers and children as well.

Organizers ask that participants either donate $10 cash or $10 in nonperishable goods.

Giving back to the community is always important, especially given the current state of affairs, Robin Platt said

"With the economic times and people in situations where their family health is a risk, any one of us could be in the same situation," he said. "We're only a phone call away, right?"

For details about the run, send an e-mail to rplatt@kronos.com. Registration will occur between 7:15 and 7:50 a.m. on the day of the race.