The Wheeling Township food pantry received a delivery of food and monetary donations Tuesday through the annual “Arrest Hunger” holiday food drive initiative.
Wheeling police officers partnered with local grocer Carnicerias Jimenez to host the weekslong Arrest Hunger food drive, and it concluded that Tuesday with a celebratory photo opportunity.
“This, will hopefully help the people that are food insecure,” said Officer Phil Kim of the Wheeling Police Department Crime Prevention Unit, who collaborated on the ood drive with police Commander Joe Kopecky.
The Carnicerias Jimenez chain of grocery stores has been in operation in Chicagoland for almost 50 years. Since early December, the store at 550 West Dundee Road, in Wheeling, collected food donations. Customers donated the food and Carnicerias Jimenez matched the donation.
Three large bins of food that had been collected were loaded by forklift onto Wheeling Public Works Department vehicles for transport Tuesday morning from the grocery store to the township food pantry.
Wheeling Township includes Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Prospect Heights, Mount Prospect and Northbrook.
“I look forward to this every year,” said Patricio Bedolla, Carnicerias Jimenez store manager. “It’s a teamwork effort.”
The Carnicerias Jimenez grocery store in Wheeling has approximately 60 employees, Bedolla said.
“It’s many coming together to do this,” Bedolla said.
Wheeling Helping Hands, a local nonprofit organization that partners with Wheeling police and fire departments to provide clothing, food and donations to persons in need in the community, donated $1,500.
The Wheeling Police Unity Foundation, the charity branch of the police department, donated $1,000. So, in addition to the food, a $2,500 cash donation was also made to the food pantry.
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“They’re very generous in looking out for those that are less fortunate and that need food at this time of the year, so it’s a great collaborative effort between the township and (Carnicerias) Jimenez and the police department and our donors that also donate, Wheeling Helping Hands and the Wheeling Police Unity Foundation,” Kopecky said.
Kim als expressed gratitude for “very generous” donors.
“They’ve been really great about contributing and helping the food insecure,” Kim said.
Sara James of Wheeling Helping Hands attended the Tuesday morning grand finale with her daughter, Mackenzy.
She called the collaborative food drive a good thing for the community.
“I absolutely love the fact that this is a community that wants to help each other, everyone’s enthusiastic to help each other,” said James. “It’s just such a positive thing for many generations.”
Karie Angell Luc is a freelancer.