For Immediate Release- Thursday, May 2, 2024
Eastern Illinois Foodbank Receives $70,000 Gift from Meijer to Help Feed Families in Eastern Illinois
URBANA, IL (May 2, 2024) — Eastern Illinois Foodbank (EIF) today announced a $70,000 gift from Meijer, in their continued support of EIF’s efforts to alleviate hunger in eastern Illinois. Funds will be used to purchase and distribute meals to those facing food insecurity in communities throughout the foodbank’s 18-county service area.
As the sustained increase in people seeking food assistance persists, community support is vital to EIF’s mission. “We continue to see an elevation in need year-over-year, with the foodbank serving an average of over 40% more of our neighbors in the last year,” said EIF President & CEO Kelly Daly. “We’re incredibly grateful for Meijer’s ongoing support and generous gift, which will allow us to provide more meals to our community during this unprecedented demand.”
At any given time, more than 100,000 people in eastern Illinois don’t know where they will get their next meal. Eastern Illinois Foodbank works to alleviate hunger as the primary food source to a network of food pantries, agencies, and programs. In addition to distributing donated and discounted food throughout this network, the Foodbank provides meals on their Foodmobile, which visits nearly 100 rural and underserved communities each month.
In recent years, regional Meijer teams have partnered with EIF to volunteer, donate food as a Retailer Against Hunger, and sell gift cards in store through their Simply Give program to benefit EIF food pantries. In 2023, they were recognized with the foodbank’s annual Mission Impact Award.
“We are so grateful to partner with Eastern Illinois Foodbank and its work in distributing healthy food to hungry families who need it most. In living out our purpose of enriching lives in the communities we serve, we commend Eastern Illinois Foodbank’s incredible services and appreciate all they do for their surrounding communities,” said Melissa Conway, Director of Community Partnerships & Giving at Meijer.
To learn more about Eastern Illinois Foodbank, visit www.eifoodbank.org.
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