Blue Island community comes together to support food pantry
Our Southwest Center’s Blue Island Robbins Neighborhood Network staff and community partners have been going above and beyond to help ensure our families receive the support they need.
One critical area of support: food.
Many people living in the community choose junk food because of the cost – exacerbated by price gauging in the area – and convenience, shares Kentric Benson, Neighborhood Network Program Coordinator. “It’s comfort food for adults who are worrying about work, bills, rent, etc., and it keeps the children happy for small periods of times.”
“We have many people who are depending on the food pantries for food,” Kentric says. “We work exclusively with the Blue Cap Blue Cap [Blue Island Citizens for Persons with Developmental Disabilities] Food Pantry to try to get as much healthy food to our residents as possible.”
Kentric shares just a few examples of people who are stepping up:
“One of the staff of the Blue Island Library who has volunteered to make protective mask for the Blue Cap Staff who have transitioned to home visits. She is making them because there are none to be purchased.”
HEAR FROM DEBBIE ABOUT HER MASK-MAKING PROJECT HERE
Other staff and volunteer superheroes:
- “We have staff from Blue Cap who are paid to work with adults with Intellectual disabilities who stock, and run the food pantry.
- “The owner of one of the local pubs is putting together lunch bags for the children in our community who are out of school, many who depend on school breakfast and lunch because its the only meal they get.
- “We have members of the Robbins Park District using their vans to transport food to those in need.”
“It is during a time like this when people are being asked to isolate that people are stepping up to help,” Kentric says. “People in our community who can’t just sit by and watch others in need.”
To all the people stepping up to help: thank you. We see you, our neighbors see you, and we’re all getting through this together.