- At least 79,000 people in east central Illinois don’t have enough to eat, according to study by Feeding America.
- About 15.5 percent of the 508,000 people in the 14-county region served by the Eastern Illinois Foodbank are classified as “food insecure,” unlikely to get enough food on a regular basis.
- One out of every six children in the region struggles with hunger, according to the Foodbank.
To help address hunger in our community, the church has undertaken a two-year church-wide social action initiative around the problem. We hope you’ll get involved!
A coordinating team for the initiative is soliciting ideas from the congregation and collecting email addresses of people who would be willing to volunteer with hunger-related projects.
Email the church Hunger Initiative team at hunger@uucuc.org.
UPDATES
Feed the Hungry: Feed the Jar!
Fill the 17 Gallon Jug with pennies or whatever you can spare. It is out on Sundays ready to be fed! (and secured in a locked area every other day).
Once the jar is full, YOU get to vote on the local agency to receive the funds (one of the ones we have worked with this past year). AND look for a contest to guess just how much money it holds when full!
UU CROP Walkers Raise $2,600!
Twenty-nine UUs (adults and children) came together with dozens of other churches on Sunday, April 22, to walk in the Champaign-Urbana CROP Walk. This is a community wide walk to raise money to fight hunger, and the money raised goes to Church World Service, and three local hunger-fighting agencies: Eastern Illinois Foodbank, TIMES Center, and Daily Bread Soup Kitchen. The UU Walkers raised a phenomenal amount of money : $2600!!! Congratulations to the team, and to the whole UU Congregation for your generosity!
Backpack Project Results
THANK YOU to everyone who donated backpacks and supplies for the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen's Backpack Project. The response was overwhelming--UUs donated 27 filled backpacks, plus several bags of supplies to be put into backpacks! The soup kitchen gave away more than 750 filled backpacks plus additional supplies to their guests this year. For many of Daily Bread's guests, this backpack was their only gift this Christmas season. So again, thank you for your generosity!
Storytelling Benefit Raises Money for Foodbank
A storytelling celebration, with performances on the theme of food, raised $566 for the Eastern Illinois Foodbank on Saturday, Nov. 12, at the church. Performances by Dan Keding, Barbara Bolser, Camille Born, Kathe Brinkmann, Linda Dust, Sue Searing, Kim Sheahan and Hal Southern, with desserts furnished by church Hunger Initiative volunteers, entertained a crowd of about 60 people in Fellowship Hall. The event was co-sponsored by the UU Church Social Action Committee, C-U Storytelling Guild and Eastern Illinois Foodbank. Thanks to Pat Nolan and Lynne Handy for all their work in helping organize the event.
Apple Picking Adventure
Five hardy church volunteers went to Wolfe Orchard in Monticello on Saturday, Nov. 12, and picked about 1,400 pounds of apples for the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. That was 32 40-pound bushels! Look for photos and more info about the experience coming soon.
LEARN MORE ABOUT HUNGER IN OUR COMMUNITY
Watch WILL-TV Videos about Hunger in Our Area
Wesley Evening Food Pantry
Mobile Food Pantry Meets Needs of Rural Residents
Food Stamp Outreach in McLean County
5th Annual Hunger Symposium
Two million people in Illinois deal with food insecurity, and in eastern Illinois that number is about 80,000, according to a study released by the group, Feeding America. It’s a problem that’s being addressed through programs like the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Local food pantries are also working hard to feed people who need food assistance. At the 5th annual Hunger Symposium on Sept. 26, 2011, in Champaign, food insecurity took front stage. The event was put on by the Eastern Illinois Food Bank and the Family Resiliency Center.
Listen to WILL-AM's audio of the symposium.
Map the Meal Gap (Research from Feeding America)
See the interactive map.
Pamela Van Wyk with granddaughter at an Eastern Illinois Foodbank food distribution event.