Big Rock church organizes drive to aid Hinckley food pantry

Members of English Congregational United Church in Big Rock are celebrating the successful return of a local food pantry drive that hasn’t been held since the pandemic.

This past weekend, organizers said an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of food collected during the drive was delivered to the Hinckley Food Pantry.

Food drive organizer Melissa Peters of Hinckley said Jewel grocery store in Sugar Grove donated bags “which were passed out to every door” for use during the drive.

“The Jewel gives us bags and we staple a flyer of what we are doing and that we will be picking up,” Peters explained. “People put whatever they want to in the bag and leave it on their porch or end of the driveway and we come back the next week and pick it up.”

Peters said the drive was fairly typical in terms of the amount collected compared to previous events.

“We have done this for several years but we stopped during the pandemic and this is the first time we have done the drive since 2019,” Peters said. “It takes a lot of volunteers and it’s a small town (Big Rock) until you have to go door-to-door and then it’s like a metropolis.”

Peters said residents in the area are always ready to lend a helping hand and donate to the food drive.

“People just need an invitation, and they are very generous,” she said.

“From a small town it’s a very generous gift,” she said of the donated food and other items. “Hundreds of people gave as we worked all the subdivisions. We had anywhere from 300 to 500 people donate. Some just give a bag with a few things in it. Some people leave boxes and boxes of additional food along with diapers and toiletries, all the things you can’t buy with food stamps. And people leave money too. It’s wonderful.”

She said the amount of support from a small town is great to see.

“We’re on the very edge of things and we certainly rely on local efforts,” she said. “One of the things about doing a food drive is that you’re looking for donations but you’re also advertising that there is a food pantry. And if someone gets that and realizes there is a food pantry in Hinckley, now they know about it and maybe they need to go there. That’s not a bad thing either.”

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.