CAN DO Community Challenge Tackles Springtime Hunger

Published on May 2, 2016

March 2016

By Barb Hickey

 

As the buds begin to appear in springtime, all of us who have survived another Chicago winter feel as though life is starting over again. But for those in our community who face hunger each day, springtime may not bring the same boost, because donations to pantries and food banks tend to be much slower once the Christmas holidays have passed. At the Oak Park and River Forest Food Pantry, we have a solution to this problem: the CAN DO Community Challenge
 
During the month of April, the Pantry calls on schools, community groups and individuals in our area to help feed our clients by organizing food drives, making individual donations, or joining our team of Food Pantry Volunteers. Last year, our communities met the challenge by donating 22,375 food items and $155,278 in monetary donations, for a grand total of $204,668. This result qualified us to receive an additional $25,000 from a challenge grant funded by local anonymous philanthropists.
 
The CAN DO Community Challenge counts on the enthusiastic participation of our school and to make the challenge more fun, students are encouraged to compete for the right to display the Challenge Trophy based on the total of number of donation points earned. How does it work?
  • $1 (monetary) donation = 10 points
  • Specialty donations= 5 points
    • Beans (canned or dried)
    • Canned Tuna/Chicken/Salmon
    • Beef Stew
    • Peanut Butter / Almond Butter (alternatives)
    • Brown Rice
    • Whole Wheat Pasta
    • Plain Oatmeal
  • General donations = 1 point
    • Non-perishable food items and Toiletry/Personal Hygiene items
Irving Elementary School (Oak Park) was last year’s proud winner, with a total of 11,207 points. Brooks came in second with 10,250 points, and Oak Park River Forest High School was in third place with 9,360 points. Kristi Braun, Community Program Manager, coordinates the Challenge. She reaches out to the schools to educate them on the importance getting involved with Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry. Her goal this year is to get 100% with our local schools. Last year more than 15 schools in Oak Park and River Forest participated. The Food Pantry also relies on community groups and individual’s support during the Challenge. Additional ways to support the CAN DO Community Challenge is by joining the Food Pantry’s amazign group of volunteers. National Volunteer Week is April 10-16, and we hope to welcome many new faces to our volunteer team during the month.