'Need is in our own back yard'

Community Foundation lends a hand at roving food bank pantry

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October 23, 2009

By JIM NEWTON jnewton@scn1.com

Chilly, daylong rain provided a gloomy backdrop Thursday as members of the Lake County Community Foundation sought to demonstrate the level of need in Lake County.

Philanthropists, potential donors and board members on the foundation's fourth annual bus tour found themselves in a steady rain as they helped distribute food to the needy from a Northern Illinois Food Bank truck at the Pearce Community Resource Center in Zion.

The focus of the bus tour this year was local hunger, as the foundation stresses that poverty and food insecurity are not limited to the inner-city areas of Chicago.

"It provides some insight into what's going on right here in the county. A lot of people on the tour are from Highland Park, Lake Forest and Lake Bluff," said foundation board President Kitty Lansing. "A lot of people are philanthropically focused on Chicago."

As for helping with the food distribution, Lansing said, "It's always good to have a little hands-on experience. You can always read about things."

"We want the donor community to realize the need is in our own back yard," said foundation spokeswoman Susan Niederlander. "Part of our mission is to help people realize we have dire needs right here."

The tour's stop at Pearce Center also demonstrated the benefits of consolidating resources.

The center houses a host of agencies that provide resources for those in need, including the Community Resources for Education and Wellness (CREW) Substance Abuse and Anger Management Division, Zion-Benton Workforce Development Training Center, Zion-Benton Children's Services, Care Net Family Resource Center, LOVE INC. and the Coalition for Healthy Communities.

Zion Township Supervisor Cheri Ditzig, who volunteers with CREW, said the group helps the agencies collaborate to save money and provide a one-stop help center for clients.

Meanwhile, the Lake County Community Foundation uses its expertise to secure and direct grants and donations to local agencies in need.

Niederlander said food security was chosen as the foundation's theme this year "because we're seeing such an increase in need, obviously due to the economic times."

At the street level, the results of such efforts were tangible Thursday. Robert Thompson of Zion, wet but happy, walked away from the mobile pantry with a large box of staples that will help keep food on his family's table.

"There's cereal, vegetables, fruit and five different kinds of meat," he said with a smile. "A lot of good things."

Foundation facts

For more information on the Lake County Community Foundation, visit lakecountycf.org