More than $2,500 in groceries are being distributed to local food pantries after two Lake County officials sped through the aisles of the Antioch Piggly Wiggly on Friday during the Lake County Farm Bureau’s 17th annual Race for Hunger.
State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim and County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor were given five frantic minutes to fill carts with nonperishable foods.
After all of the groceries were scanned through the registers and bagged, Lawlor was named the winner of this year’s contest with a total of $1,349 in groceries collected during the five-minute contest. Nerheim was close behind with cartloads of groceries that carried a value of $1,183.
Nerheim said that while the event is “fun and light-hearted, it shines a light on a serious and inexcusable problem affecting our community.”
“Lake County is one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, yet we have people in our own backyard that are hungry,” Nerheim said. “Families around Lake County count on their local food banks for sustenance.”
“While it was fun and exciting to compete against State’s Attorney Nerheim in this year’s Race for Hunger, helping put food on the table for individuals and families is what this is all about,” Lawlor added. “Local food pantries are a lifeline for people — our neighbors, co-workers, friends — who don’t have enough food to eat.”
Lawlor, a Vernon Hills resident, chose to donate his groceries to the Libertyville Township Food Pantry.
Nerheim donated his to the St. Anastasia Food Pantry in Waukegan.
“It’s where I went to grade school,” he said.
Farm Bureau Executive Director Greg Koeppen said Lawlor and Nerheim broke the record for the amount of groceries collected in five minutes. The race was changed from eight minutes to five minutes a few years ago.
“The real winners here are the food pantries. That’s why we do it,” Koeppen said. “They are definitely in need of food, especially this time of year.”
Koeppen said that in addition to Lawlor and Nerheim, the Farm Bureau was grateful to the Piggly Wiggly in Antioch and its owner, David Karczewski, for making the event “a huge success.”
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