Advocate Good Shepherd delivers food for needy

To help its community organizations that help others in need, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital has divided 1,970 pounds of fresh frozen turkey,880 pounds of spiral-sliced smoked hams and 600 pounds of non-perishable food items among nine area food pantries and shelters in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday next week.

“These are trying times for so many of our neighbors, we have to step up to help where we can, even in these small gestures,” said Rev. Fred Rajan, vice president of Good Shepherd's Mission & Spiritual Care department.

The following community organizations together received between 12 and 25 turkeys, the same number of hams, and a large container of non-perishable food items, depending on each's ability to store and distribute it:

• Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Food Pantry

• Barrington Township Food Pantry

• Cary Food Pantry;

• Crystal Lake Interfaith Food Pantry;

• Cuba Township Food Pantry;

• Ela Township Food Pantry;

• Grafton Township Food Pantry;

• PADS Shelter of McHenry County.;

• Wauconda/Island Lake Food Pantry;

About Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital

Advocate Good Shepherd in Barrington, Illinois is a 169-bed acute care hospital with more than 700 physicians representing 50 medical specialties. It is part of Advocate Health Care, named one of the Top Ten hospital systems in the U.S. by Thomson-Reuters. Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital is ranked highest in Illinois for quality and patient safety according to Blue Cross Blue Shield's 2011 Blue Star Report. Advocate is a faith-based organization that exists to serve its communities. In 2010, Advocate provided more than $474,000,000 in charity care and services to its communities. For more about Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital: www.advocatehealth.com/goodshep