Column: Aurora Responds When Need Is Greatest At Local Food Pantries

Although the disruption in SNAP benefits created plenty of outrage and angst during the government shutdown last month, there is one upside that came from all the upheaval.

It got more people thinking about food pantries.

And not just as that busy place they pass on the way to work. Or in another headline touting their importance as a lifeline to so many vulnerable people.

Suddenly lots more people began holding food drives.

And bringing in their own individual – and generous – bags of groceries.

And writing checks that can, as if by Christmas magic, turn into far bigger donations.

Cathedral of Grace St. John did just that at Thanksgiving with a $5,000 gift to the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry in Aurora.

Because the pantry has a matching corporate donation through the holidays, this Aurora church’s check morphed into $10,000. And because pantries can purchase food cheaper through the Northern Illinois Food Bank, the $5,000 actually is worth $40,000 in meals, enough to feed 1,000 families for a week, according to some estimates.

What makes this particular donation also noteworthy is that this affiliate of the African Methodist Episcopal church is the oldest African American church west of Chicago, and Marie Wilkinson is the oldest pantry in the area.

In fact, the Rev. Jesse Hawkins, who has been pastor at Cathedral of Grace St. John for 43 years, worked alongside Marie Wilkinson, a social and civil rights activist who founded the Aurora pantry that bears her name 75 years ago.

There’s no question this gift comes at a time when need is greater than ever. With food insecurity dominating headlines, local pantries continue to be slammed, in part due to recent ICE raids in the community that have left many Hispanics fearful of leaving their homes.

Food distribution at East Aurora High School, Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry Executive Director Annette Johnson noted, has gone from about 80 kids every couple weeks last year to 600 students per week.

“We are also getting calls right and left” from East Aurora District 131 administrators for the pantry’s emergency food box program that is run through the elementary schools, said Johnson.

“Families are in real need,” she insisted.

And people are taking notice, including a man last week who told Johnson he’s driven past the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry on his way to work for years, and even though he knew it was doing good things in the community, had never donated before to it.

“He took out the last $80 in his wallet,” Johnson told me, and handed it to her.

Katie Arko, executive director of Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry, is also overwhelmed with gratitude at the way people have rallied to the cause.

“Although demand has continued to rise,” she said, “the community’s response was immediate and inspiring,” with gifts flooding in online and through the mail.

“Donations, both monetary and food, poured in from businesses, service clubs, individuals, churches and neighborhood groups,” Arko noted.

“By the time the November food drive ended and totals were counted, the results were stunning,” she continued, noting more than “twice as much money” was donated this year compared to last.

Add to that, the generosity of longtime Interfaith supporter Karen Leonard, who recently contributed $25,000 in matching funds for Giving Tuesday, which in turn inspired others to donate, and which Arko predicts will break the pantry’s Giving Tuesday records.

“For decades Karen Leonard has been a remarkable force for good,” she continued, noting that every month this dedicated volunteer “scours sales, stacks coupons and purchases large quantities of food for pennies on the dollar,” then donates it all to the pantry.

“We never had a lot growing up,” Leonard recalled, “but my parents encouraged us to get involved and be charitable.”

As Arko pointed out, people like this make food pantries a “beacon of hope for families who need it most.”

And that often includes their four-legged loved ones, said Johnson, who tells me the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry has deliberately stepped up its pet program.

Last month, she noted, four pallets of cat and dog food were handed out, all donated by those who realize how important pets are, especially during stressful times.

“Whether it’s cereal or diapers or personal care products, when we put out a request, people respond,” said Johnson. “We hear so much about the negative, but there really is so much goodwill in the community.”

dcrosby@tribpub.com