On Saturday, October 5, SVdP Prince of Peace Conference held a Mobile Food Pantry serving neighbors in need in Lake County. The sun was shining and the SVdP conference members along with other parish volunteers from the Knights of Columbus, the Boy Scouts and our Confirmation Class partnered together to provide food to over 90 families including 276 individuals with 53 of them children.
Over the last three years, the Prince of Peace Conference with the support of the St. Bede’s conference has partnered with the Northern Illinois Food Bank to hold Mobile Pantries three times a year in the church parking lot.
Neighbors in need start lining up as early as 7:30 am to make sure they have an early spot in line. At around 8:30 am, the food truck arrives with 10,000 lbs. of food including meat, fresh produce, dairy products and various canned and boxed items. It is a surprise each time to see what arrives on the truck but there is always plenty of food to support those in need. When it is a client friend’s “turn”, they enter the shopping line where they are accompanied by a “helper” from the Confirmation Classes who pushes a cart to carry all the shopping bags and boxes. Once shopping is complete, volunteers help load the food into the car for our client friends.
It is truly a parish collaborative event which has helped provide service opportunities for our youth and also raised awareness of the need right in our community, all while helping those in need.