Lincoln/Logan County Food Pantry receives check for $2,000

[November 10, 2015]   LINCOLN - On Thursday afternoon, Illinois Representative Tim Butler and AT&T external affairs manager, Chris Warwick, paid a visit to Bill Overton at the Lincoln/Logan County Food Pantry. The purpose of the visit was to deliver a check for $2,000 to Overton as a recipient of the AT&T Invest in Illinois Award.

Warwick explained that AT&T presents these awards throughout the state. When looking to choose someone locally, Warwick contacted Representative Butler and asked him to nominate someone from his district. Butler chose the Lincoln/Logan County Food Pantry. Commenting on the food pantry, Warwick said, “They’re a great non-profit organization improving lives in Illinois. By supporting these organizations, we’re strengthening the communities we serve.”

Before presenting the check, Overton offered his guests a tour of the food pantry and explained some of the processes for serving Logan County customers who come to the pantry. Overton said on the average, the food pantry serves approximately 530 families a month, amounting to about 2,000 individuals.

He said the food pantry is a “total choice” pantry, which means customers may select the items they wish to take home to their families. Overton explained that the family is first required to fill out a form that addresses the size of the family and the annual income of the household. The family must qualify for food pantry services by their income. Once that is established, the customer may choose from the food pantry items, with quantities of each item being determined by the size of the family.

Overton said that “total choice” pantries, according to studies done, are the best and most economical way to serve the needs of a family. He explained that there are food pantries that prepare sacks of groceries for the recipient, and the food provided is what the recipient has to take. He said studies had shown that in those cases, as much as 50 percent of the food goes to waste because it is something the recipient does not want or cannot use.

With a total choice pantry, the families still get the good food that they need, but they can choose the vegetables their family will eat, or the cereal that they know their children will like, instead of having to take what is offered.

The pantry is open on Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons weekly. While open, the building is filled with volunteers who assist recipients in selecting the proper foods and quantities for their family size.

Overton said the pantry is managed and manned completely by volunteers, including himself as the president/director. Altogether, he said, there are approximately 50 individuals who come in on a regular basis to help out.

Overton also explained that the building the pantry occupies is owned and donated to the pantry by the United Methodist Church next door. Thanks to the generosity of the church and the volunteers, the food pantry works with a relatively low overhead. Overton said that the pantry takes care of utilities and is responsible for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of pantry appliances, such things as freezers and refrigerators.

Because the overhead is low, the pantry can utilize the greatest portion of its monetary donations for the purchase of food. The pantry utilizes the Central Illinois Food Bank in Springfield as the main source of food they purchase. Many other food products are donated through local food drives and other donations.

At the food bank in Springfield, the local food pantry can purchase every food product imaginable for only 19-cents per pound. In addition to food, the pantry can also buy other products such as dental hygiene products like toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Overton said he was very appreciative, first to Representative Butler for recognizing the importance of the food pantry to Logan County residents, and second to AT&T for the Invest in Illinois program that made the $2,000 award. He noted that with the dollars received from AT&T, the pantry would be able to purchase more than 10,000 pounds of food.

As stated earlier, the pantry is open to Logan County residents on Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon weekly. It is also open exclusively to seniors on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.

[Nila Smith]