The tall cardboard box next to the information desk at Evanston’s main library is nearly filled. Inside, cans of clam chowder, collard greens, and spaghetti and meatballs pile on top of two-liter soda bottles.
Evanston residents have donated the non-perishables as part of the United Way of the North Shore’s first annual food drive. Within weeks, the cans will be helping people just blocks away.
With the goal of collecting 10,000 pounds of food, the United Way set up boxes in all three branches of the Evanston Public Library and across the North Shore. Organizers initially planned the drive to last one week in early October, but extended it until the end of the month after fewer donations came in than expected.
For the food pantries that will receive the food, including the Hemenway United Methodist Church, the drive comes as more and more people are stopping in for help.
“There are a lot of poor people in Evanston that really need this food,” said Jennifer Myers, the church’s food pantry coordinator. “And the more that people give, the more that we can help them.”
When the church opened its food pantry roughly 20 years ago, about 30 people stopped in each time the food was distributed, Myers said. That number started increasing dramatically 10 years ago and shot up last year, she said. Now, about80 people show up to the distributions every two weeks.
The type of people coming in is changing, too, Myers said. Some of the people have jobs, she said, but after paying their bills, they don’t have enough money left over to feed their families.
Keeping up with the increased demand is a challenge, she added.
“We don’t have a whole lot to give,” Myers said. “We’re just trying to help people the best we can.”
The United Way of the North Shore chose to extend the drive in Evanston after the week-long drive brought in less food than expected, said board member and Evanston resident Susan McGarry.
A short time period for publicity might have been to blame, but it’s also more difficult to advertise in a larger city like Evanston than it is in smaller communities, she said.”I understand they had better results farther north,” McGarry said. “In Evanston, there’s a lot more territory to cover.”
Organizers extended the drive for one week in other communities and until the end of October in Evanston, she said.
At the main branch of the Evanston Public Library, director Mary Johns explained it’s difficult to collect food donations at a library. Many library regulars only stop in every several weeks, she said, so even if they see the collection box on their way out, they might not be back before the drive is over.
Still, she said, the library is happy to help the drive in whatever way it can.”It’s just another way to be a part of the community,” she said, “especially in times like these.”
