Community Bands Together, Donates Free Food To Residents In Need

PLAINFIELD, IL — In order to keep up with the growing demand for food in the community due to the coronavirus pandemic, the St. Mary Immaculate Parish will host a food distribution event on Wednesday, May 27.

The Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva and Catholic Charities will distribute free food at the church from 5-6:30 p.m. on a first-come-first-serve basis till supplies last.

According to Chris Arnold, parishioner and co-organizer of the event, the Plainfield church has been hosting food trucks from the two nonprofits for years.

"People lost their jobs and Catholic Charities knows how it's been doing this for years, they know the demand," he said. "When the pandemic started, the psychology of the country was in a different place but the demand for food was still there. So I was asked to coordinate this, and I am humbled and honored to do so."

Previously, this took place once a month when food was given to almost 150 people, but with the COVID-19 outbreak, they are now feeding almost 500 people every two weeks, within the span of just a few hours. Two trucks — one containing non-perishables and the other with meats and produce — will arrive at the church parking lot around 4 p.m. and those collecting the food have been asked to remain in their cars, which will be parked 6 feet away from each other in accordance with social distancing norms.

Catholic charities does not require proof of residence or income, it simply asks people to provide their last names and zip codes. If they need food, "we will provide them with it irrespective of their status," Arnold said.

"People start arriving from 1:30 p.m. and wait till the distribution begins," he said. "Can you imagine waiting four hours for food? That just proves the necessity of what we're doing. If you are willing to wait that long for food, then you really need it. The whole experience is just very humbling."

In order to ensure safety, no one is allowed to leave their cars and the church volunteers will take precautions during the distribution. Only a small part of the church is currently open and Arnold said they've trained everybody on how to enter and exit the building while minimizing exposure.

"We are abiding every rule set by the county," he said. "The volunteers and staff are trained in social distancing and how to conduct themselves during one or more operations. So far we've really been doing a great job."

Arnold said the food distributions will continue till the situation is under control and "in my opinion, even if we follow the governor's plan and open up, people will not start getting paid immediately, and we will keep doing this till mid-July," he said.

"This is a really big deal because people are hurting, and not just financially," Arnold said. "This is our chance to do what's right by Plainfield, this is our contribution. This was a community effort and from the police department to the mayor, I could not have done it without everyone's help. This is Plainfield strong."