Elgin students and businesses to collect food for the hungry

Students in the current Elgin Area Leadership Academy class are taking on hunger for their required community service project.

The centerpiece of their plan is to coordinate the Hearts for Hunger Food Drive competition between area middle and high schools with a couple of local businesses joining in as well.

The competition will run from Monday, Feb. 14, through Friday, Feb. 25, with donations going to local food pantries.

The overall goals for the project, according to academy student Terry Gray, are to increase awareness about hunger, reduce the stigma associated with need and educate the community about local resources. “There are so many people in need of food right now, more so than ever because of the economic crisis,” Gray said.

The slogan for the food drive is to “Take what you require when you are in need. Give back what you can when you are able.”

The Elgin Area Leadership Academy was founded in 1991 as a program of the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce. It serves as a leadership development program for adults, focused on educating people about how and where to serve as active members of the community.

“It’s really a wonderful opportunity to enhance the knowledge of individuals in our community about our community,” said Carol Gieske, vice president of communications with the Elgin Area Chamber.

The adult students compiled a list of Elgin soup kitchen and pantry locations to post throughout the community. Posters with suggested donation items will also be distributed.

Four middle schools and four high schools will compete among each other to see who can collect the most. The Grand Victoria Casino and South Elgin’s Hoffer Plastics Corp. employees will participate in individual food drives and residents and other local businesses are encouraged to drop off donations at the Elgin Area Chamber office, 31 S. Grove Ave., in Elgin.

Gieske said past community service projects have included adopting a local school and working on Elgin’s first green conference focused on sustainability.