United Way of West Central Illinois has launched their first ever student-led food drive. Now through November 5th, participating schools will be collecting a specific food item each week to then be delivered to local food pantries, according to Community Outreach Coordinator Madison Hieser:
“This is a student-led food drive called ‘Team Up to Fill Up,’ a wonderful way to create young philanthropists. Each week, we have a different food item that we recommend people bring in. Week One is bean week. Week Two is pasta, rice, or ramen. Week Three is cereal that is preferably low in sugar. Then Week Four is canned vegetables or fruit,” says Hieser.
“This drive really started as a way for us to fill a significant need that we saw in our region. We have seven participating schools: Monmouth College, Sandburg, United, Monmouth-Roseville High School, West Central High School, Mercer County High School, and Galesburg High School. Each Friday, United Way will have a representative to pick up that food and drop it off at one food pantry in each county of Henderson, Knox, Mercer, and Warren,” Hieser adds.
Donations are encouraged to be dropped off at the participating locations.
