Peoria Standard

At the June 20 meeting of the Village of Peoria Heights Board of Trustees, St. Thomas food pantry manager Diana Janda expressed concern over the increasing number of individuals relying on the food pantry for support. 

Janda attributed this rise to families who have been adversely affected by cuts in federal aid. She appealed to the board for some help.

"Within just the last couple of months, we've had an increase in people coming to the food pantry looking for food," Janda told the board. "Usually, we serve between 100 and 125 families per month. The last couple of months, we've served almost 160 families per month."

She explained that most of families seeking help are made up of three people. "So if we serve 150 families ... it would be about 400, 450 to 500 people per month. I'd say 80 to 85% are from 61616. And we have had new families coming saying that they just can't make it because their federal aid has been cut."

The food pantry primarily serves the Peoria Heights area along with a specific region by Route 6, Forest Hill, Knoxville and the river. However individuals from outside this area are provided assistance on their first visit and are then referred to other food pantries for ongoing support.

According to Janda, families from Peoria Heights can receive a large load of groceries once a month from the food pantry. This includes shelf-stable items like canned goods and boxed meals. Regardless of donations received, the pantry ensures that every family receives these essential items.

Janda told the trustees that due to the increased demand and the need to replace a 30-year-old cooler, the food pantry has been facing financial difficulties. They have had to allocate funds donated by parishioners to purchase a new cooler, which limits the available resources for purchasing groceries and meeting other expenses. 

A board member made a proposal to provide a $1,000 donation to the pantry and explore the possibility of a matching donation to the Congressional Church Food Bank. 

"That would be great,"Janda said. "Then we can use our donations for the feeding, instead of for equipment.”