There’s no question in our minds that the Eastern Illinois Foodbank is one of the most important resources our community has. When Subway® Restaurants and SocialMoms invited us to be part of the “You Share. We Share.” program, we were thrilled to take one day to talk about this fantastic organization and why it deserves our support.
Since April 1, SUBWAY® Restaurants have been partnering with local charities to give back to their communities. When you eat at SUBWAY® Restaurants in Champaign-Urbana on the weekends this summer, a percentage of sales up to $15,000 will go to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. Hurry in as this promotion ends Aug. 31! Learn more about the program here.
The statistics are staggering: one in five Eastern Illinois children are hungry, and 1 in every 3 clients served by the Eastern Illinois Foodbank is a child. Poverty in Champaign County hovers around 23.4 percent.
Something more to chew on:
● In the past year, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank provided 7.3 million pounds of food – including 1.5 million pounds of produce — to more than 220 agencies and programs feeding the hungry.
● The agencies and programs that the Foodbank supplies feed an average of 55,000 people each month.
● Contrary to popular belief, the holidays are not a time of great need for food relief agencies. In fact, summertime is generally a time of highest demand, because children are out of school and there are increased financial pressures on parents.
● Every dollar donated to the Foodbank provides someone in need with $10 worth of donated food, so financial donations are very important. Furthermore, every $1 donated = six meals for families. Last year, the Foodbank provided more than 6,083,333 meals to individuals in our community.
Last year, my kids and I were fortunate to be part of a special family re-pack event at the Eastern Illinois Foodbank where young children were able to volunteer. When the Foodbank receives food in bulk they have to repackage that product into smaller forms for the agencies to give out to individuals and families in need. It was a great way to show kids who aren’t food insecure what it means to be hungry — and to show them how important it is for our community to mobilize and address hunger.
In a small way, you can do that too, by taking your family out to eat in the next few weekends. Consider eating at a locally owned and operated SUBWAY® Restaurants franchise (find your store here) in support of EIF and its efforts to help the most vulnerable in our community. Follow the Eastern Illinois Foodbank on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube and learn more about SUBWAY’s “You Share. We Share.” initiative here.
“This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and Subway blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.”
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