Salvation Army volunteers package food for needy

A ham or turkey, a bag of fresh potatoes, cans of corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, yams and gravy, and a box of stuffing — enough to provide one good meal to a needy family of four.

Like a well-oiled assembly line, suburban volunteers prepared hundreds of such boxes Friday night at the Salvation Army's Emergency Disaster Services headquarters in Elk Grove Village.

A group of employees from Zurich Insurance in Schaumburg, their friends and family members worked furiously Friday night in a friendly competition to outperform the volunteers who had prepared boxes earlier that day.

“This is my first year,” said Dave Melzer of Elk Grove Village. “My wife got me involved in it. But I'm more than happy to give my time. We both work. Our families are in good shape, and we have food on the table. It seems appropriate to give back to the community.”

Shirley Burnson of Schaumburg said it's her second year volunteering with Salvation Army, which she said is her favorite charity because of what it does for people in need.

More than 200 volunteers will continue to package roughly 11,000 Christmas food boxes today and Monday through Saturday next week at the 65,000-square-foot facility.

Boxes will be distributed starting Monday through Dec. 22 to needy families in the area.

The goal is simply to provide needy families a basic Christmas dinner, said Maj. David Dalberg, Salvation Army disaster services director.

“It's a touch of hope in their lives where they can change direction,” he said.

It's the fifth year the Salvation Army Metropolitan Division has conducted this project. Last year, the agency served 112,000 people and distributed more than 17,000 food baskets, 80,000 toys, and 37,000 articles of clothing during the holiday season.

“We'd love to decrease the number of boxes, but given the need the foreseeable future doesn't suggest that it's going to be possible,” Dalberg said.

In some suburban communities, the demand for food has increased by 200 percent to 400 percent, said Paula Sullivan, finance and administration chief for Salvation Army Disaster Services.

“People that would normally come and volunteer with us are now in line for help,” Sullivan said. “It could be any one of these people next year standing in line for boxes.”

Sullivan said volunteers are the heart of the operation, which started as a response to Hurricane Katrina.

“Without the volunteers, we couldn't do this,” she said.

To volunteer to package boxes, call (847) 709-6602.

Food: Boxes will be distributed starting Monday