Wednesday is the last day for the 13th annual Aurora Holiday Food Drive, a drive that has been dramatically different than in the past due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Because the drive has coincided with a spike in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, the usual cadre of volunteers in grocery stores, passing out pamphlet reminders about the drive, were not present this year.
Because of less in-person shopping, Alia Rivera, the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry’s development director, said there has been less food bought through the three grocery stores participating in the drive this year.
But she said there has still been “a ton of food coming in,” as well as monetary donations. And as of Tuesday, the pantry has received $15,000 in monetary donations during the drive.
“There has definitely been a different feel this year,” Rivera said. “It’s not been as hands-on. But plenty of businesses have made generous donations.”
There are a couple of big food and monetary donations coming in Wednesday, Rivera said.
“But everybody’s under financial strain, so they buy the essentials, and don’t necessarily buy anything else,” Rivera said.
And this has come while the need for food at the pantry has been greater than ever. Because of the pandemic, the pantry has gone from serving about 38,000 households a year to about 53,000 this year. The usual two-day distribution each week is seeing about 800 cars a day, up from the norm of about 500. The pantry serves Aurorans, as well as anyone in about a six-county area surrounding the city.
The Holiday Food Drive each year has become one of the main ways the pantry assures its shelves stay stocked for the coming year. It runs each year from Nov. 1 through the day before Thanksgiving.
The three grocery stores that have been part of the food drive are Prisco’s Family Market, 1108 Prairie St., Aurora; Cermak Fresh Market, 1250 N. Lake St., Aurora; and La Chiquita, 1525 Douglas Road, Montgomery.
Other sponsors include Dolan & Murphy Inc.; 95.9 The River radio station; Aurora Fastprint; The Beacon-News; Douglas Carpet One; Gerald Subaru of Naperville/North Aurora; and AC’s Pub, a new sponsor this year.
For more information about the pantry, contact Marcy Robles at mrobles@aurorafoodpantry.org, or call 630-692-3056. Information also is available by calling 630-897-3056 or going to www.aurorafoodpantry.org.
Founded in 1981, Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry operates one of the largest food pantries in northern Illinois, distributing 3.4 million pounds of food to approximately 196,000 individuals a year, officials said.