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Outbreak of COVID-19 Leads to Influx at Food Pantry Outbreak of COVID-19 Leads to Influx at Food Pantry

By Emanuel Martinez

Martinez
The outbreak of COVID-19 is keeping Illinoisans apart, but at Northfield Township’s food pantry, the spread of the virus is bringing more people in than before.

Donors, volunteers, and patrons are all rushing to the pantry, keeping coordinator Kevin Berry busy. He highlights a bit of what has changed.

Berry:
“We’ve been doing prepackaged bags for people, doing our best to continue to provide the same amount of food. Also of course, limiting the amount of volunteers in the pantry because we do want to continue to make sure that the volunteers that are working in the pantry can be at least 6 feet apart.”

Martinez:
Volunteer Colin Bruch explains how the new process is not as interactive.

Bruch:
“So we’re getting everything in the pantry, and then when they come, we just give them the stuff and then that’s it.”

Martinez:
But because of COVID-19…

Bruch:
“You know, you gotta make changes.”

Martinez:
The combination of the outbreak of COVID-19 and now economic uncertainty means places like this are even more important. From Glenview, Manny Martinez, NCC News.

GLENVIEW, Ill. (NCC News)–More people are walking through the doors of the Northfield Township Food Pantry even with the outbreak of COVID-19.

The pantry has seen a rise in foot traffic, as volunteers, patrons and people with donations are all coming together in the middle of a crisis. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker ordered restaurant dining rooms close in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. That has lead to many area restaurants donating excess food.

The economic uncertainty attached to the viral outbreak has also contributed to the increase of patrons. Many Americans have been laid off work and filed for unemployment in the past two weeks. While looking for their next pay check, some are also looking for help with their next meal. In a short time Thursday, the pantry met the needs of three new families dealing with recent job losses.

Kevin Berry is the pantry’s coordinator. He is in charge of making sure the pantry is ready to adapt to the new reality that is life in the outbreak of COVID-19.

“We’ve been doing prepackaged bags for people, doing our best to continue to provide the same amount of food,” said Berry. “Also, of course, [we’re] limiting the amount of volunteers in the pantry because we do want to continue to make sure that the volunteers that are working in the pantry can be at least 6 feet apart.”

Pantry-goers two weeks ago could navigate the aisles of the pantry themselves, picking out their allotment. Now, volunteers are the ones picking and packaging. Volunteers still make sure each family gets what they need, but Colin Bruch points out that the process has succeeded in limiting person-to-person contact.

“So we’re getting everything in the pantry, and then when they come, we just give them the stuff and then that’s it,” said Bruch.

Donations have been pouring in. The pantry is well stocked with all kinds of food. Other household items, like toilet paper, which has been hard to come by at some places, are aplenty.

As time passes and the American way of life continues to change, the pantry, and others like it around the country, becomes even more important.

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