The annual Matching Pallet fundraiser takes place Friday, with two Aurora food pantries hoping to raise as much as $50,000.
The fundraiser benefits both the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry and the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry. The aim is to keep food on hand to help feed people, particularly children, during the summer months.
“It’s kind of a lean time for food pantries,” said Marilyn Weisner, Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry director. “But the need is still there.”
In fact, Weisner said “summer is difficult” because many school children eat free or reduced price breakfast and lunch at school. The food pantry and the Northern Illinois Food Bank in Geneva help run the Food for Thought program, which works to make sure children are getting enough to eat during the summer, for that very reason.
“Good nutrition is important for everyone, but especially children,” said Weisner. “Kids should be having fun during the summer, not worrying about where their next meal is coming from or being unable to play and exercise because they haven’t eaten.”
The Matching Pallet fundraiser means donations will fund pallets of food that the pantries are able to acquire at discounts through the food bank. Each donation will be matched by the fundraiser’s sponsors, greatly increasing the impact.
A $105 donation will provide 1,000 bags of pasta, organizers said. Put another way, Weisner said for every $1 donated, the food pantries can get $7 worth of food from the food bank. But with the Matching Pallet program, six local sponsors will match what people donate, so $1 donated buys $14 worth of food, Weisner said.
The six business who are sponsors are: Dolan & Murphy Real Estate; Erie Insurance; Gerald Subaru; Konen Insurance; The Lakone Company; and Mooney & Thomas, P.C. They will match up to $25,000 donated, for a total of $50,000.
The event will kick off with an all-day Radiothon on Friday on 95.9 The River. Live remote broadcasts will be held from 6 to 10 a.m., at Mother’s Pancake House, 2290 W. Galena Blvd.; from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Chili’s, 1290 N. Orchard Road; and from 3 to 7 p.m., at Spartan House, 1032 Prairie St.
Online donations can be made by visiting aurorafoodpantry.org and clicking on the Matching Pallet link. Donations may also be mailed to either pantry. Donors should write “Matching Pallet” on the check’s memo line, organizers said.
Donations may also be made by phone by calling 630-692-3056. More information can be found on aurorafoodpantry.org or mariewilkinsonfoodpantry.org.
