Pradel’s frozen food collection warms hearts

George Pradel demonstrated Tuesday he knows a little something about shopping; and a little something about fashion, too.

There the Naperville mayor was, standing in the frozen food aisle of the Jewel-Osco at 127 E. Ogden Ave., all decked out in his U.S. Marines stocking cap and his red Marines sweatshirt and even his red gloves.

Because, as Pradel well knows, it pays to come prepared when someone is going to give you 2½ minutes to collect as much frozen food as possible to benefit the Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry.

His race against the clock, which came on one of the warmest days of the year, was organized by the Midwest Frozen & Refrigerated Food Association as part of National Frozen Food Month. Jewel-Osco donated the food.

When it was over, Pradel had collected $774.31 worth of items to be donated to Loaves & Fishes.

“My intent was to focus on items that provide family nourishment, such as lasagna, pizzas and even whole turkeys,” Pradel said in a written statement. “A lot of families will be a little less hungry in the next few weeks.”

Loaves & Fishes has served Naperville since 1984 and provides food and other essentials each month to families in need.