Northbrook Park District Senior Center Members Support the Northfield Township Food Pantry

Northbrook Park District Senior Center members recently rallied together to support the Northfield Township Food Pantry.

When Illinois reinstated Tier 3 mitigations in November, the Senior Center closed its doors and began virtual-only programing. This had a huge impact on local seniors who had to once again isolate themselves.

"The seniors miss gathering with their friends at the Senior Center and I miss seeing all of them," said Senior Center Supervisor Laura Wassinger. "Also, many of our seniors love doing special projects for the community from donating face coverings last spring to knitting hats and blankets for hospitals for many years."

On Wednesday, January 13, Wassinger joined forces with Whitehall of Deerfield to host a Northfield Township Food Pantry Drive-by Drop-Off event at the Village Green Center.

"We thought it would be good to get people out of their homes to see them at a safe outdoor event to say hello and at the same time do something good for the community," Wassinger said.

Whitehall of Deerfield assisted in sponsoring the event by offering a gift card raffle to participants who dropped off donations. Northbrook Park District's Senior Center Advisory Council had several members present to greet people and accept donations.

"The need for pantry services has exploded since March. Because everything the pantry distributes is donated, our community's generosity is what has kept us operating and in fact enabled us to increase the allotment for each household," said Northfield Township Supervisor Jill Brickman. "We are fortunate to operate in a community where so many share our belief that hunger is unacceptable in our community."

The event brought in $525 in monetary donations and 700 non-perishable food and dry good items that were delivered to the Northfield Township Food Pantry for distribution. Due to the overwhelming success of this drive, Northbrook Park District is planning to repeat the event soon. Senior Center program and event information is available online at nbparks.org or by calling (847) 291-2993.