A partnership with Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB), the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry and the city of Aurora government fed 1,200 families at the Pop Up Pantry 9 in Aurora Monday The NIFB brought additional food based on the anticipated demand.
First car was in line at 4:45 a.m. and the gates opened just after 9 a.m.. Seventy-five student volunteers in middle school, high school, and college assisted while on Spring break
Twenty volunteers from the Citizens Police Academy of Aurora Alumni (CPAAA) and 10 volunteer adults from Mayor’s Office Service Team (MOST) helped.
Pop Up Pantry 9 will be held later this month and will be held monthly through the Summer.
It was mayor Richard Irvin’s 51st birthday and he spent it volunteering with the youth of Aurora.
More than 12,000 families have been fed through all eight pop-up pantries.
This Pop-Up Pantry comes at a week that could be a perfect storm for struggling families because the utility moratorium ended Wednesday, March 31 and rent is due Thursday, April 1.
—City of Aurora government