The Mobile Food Pantry program will initially be offered through the Madison County and Effingham area offices, according to Steven Roach, executive director of Catholic Charities in the diocese. The refrigerated food pantries began making runs in August, distributing a two-week supply of food to families in need throughout the eastern and southern counties of the diocese. The first stops were to include the communities of Fieldon (Jersey County), Shobonier (Fayette County) and Pocahontas (Bond County).
"We are seeking sponsors to help us purchase additional trucks so we can expand the program to other areas of the diocese," said Roach. "We also need food and monetary donations to help stock the trucks and cover operating expenses such as fuel."
The trucks cost approximately $50,000 each and some food will need to be purchased at low cost from local food banks in order to fill the orders with nutritionally balanced meals, Roach said.
Roach said Catholic Charities has utilized existing local contacts to establish the initial host sites for the Mobile Food Pantry and is seeking to partner with parishes, churches, community service organizations or existing food pantries in rural communities where there is an identified need for food assistance.
"Basically our message is: We can bring food to you if you can just identify people in your area who need the assistance and give us a place to park our pantry," Roach said.
"The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that over 60 million people (including 17 million children) are food insecure. Food insecurity is defined as having the recent experience of not knowing where your next meal is coming from. It is estimated that over 140,000 people in the Springfield diocese fall into this category," said Roach.
"We have struggled for years to address the issue of rural hunger in our diocese," he said. "The Mobile Food Pantry provides us with an opportunity to reach out to those who cannot access assistance in our area office pantries. If people who are suffering cannot reach us, we must find ways to reach them."
For more information about the Mobile Food Pantry program contact any local Catholic Charities office or call Meredith Curtin at (217) 523-9201 ext. 304. Or, visit the Catholic Charities website at cc.dio.org and "track the trucks" on Facebook.