Girl Scout Food Drive Nets 40,000 lbs!
Oct 30, 2008
Five shopping carts overflowing with canned soup. Three 64-gallon bins full of boxed pasta. Enough boxes of macaroni and cheese to fill a 6-ft tall cabinet. These are just some of the riches donated to the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry thanks to the Girl Scout Food Drive on Oct. 18th. In all, fifty troops from Vista 9 Girl Scouts in Oak Park and River Forest collected approximately 40,000 lbs of food. A record amount collected, the food is sorely needed to help feed the increasing numbers of families depending on the OPRF Food Pantry. In addition to traditional fare, several savvy donors contributed cash to the food drive, totaling $240.00. (Cash is extra helpful to the food pantry because we can use it to purchase items from the Greater Chicago Food Depository for an average of 17 cents per pound.) Our clients are thrilled to once again have some of the extra special foods their neighbors share. The pantry can’t afford to buy Thin Mints, of course, but we got many boxes from this food drive to pass on.
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To all the girl scouts who hung door knob reminders, schlepped food to the pantry, and helped sort endless bags of food, we are endlessly grateful. All the parents who drove the girls and their food (and also helped sort it) deserve thanks for giving up a lovely Saturday afternoon in the service of others. A special shout out to Lisa Files for organizing the entire Girl Scout Food Drive effort. And of course our loyal pantry volunteers came through once again to help find a place for more food than any of us could imagine. Mostly, we’d like to thank all those who generously emptied their own cupboards so that others could have a full one. You are the heart of Oak Park and River Forest.