Through Dot Foods' Neighbor-to-Neighbor program, 10 Mt. Sterling area food pantries each received $5,000 worth of product from Dot's inventory.
The 2019 Neighbor-to-Neighbor recipient pantries are:
Brown County TRCC (Mount Sterling, IL)
Brown County Food Basket (Versailles, IL)
Community for Christ Assistance Center (Camp Point, IL)
Meredosia Food Pantry (Meredosia, IL)
Nauvoo Food Pantry (Nauvoo, IL)
North Greene Area Food Pantry (White Hall, IL)
Outreach Community Center (Winchester, IL)
Pike County TRRC (Pittsfield, IL)
Salvation Army (Macomb, IL)
Shepherd's Food Pantry Carthage (Carthage, IL)
Dot made similar donations in the communities of each of its 12 U.S. distribution centers and the company's corporate sales office for a total contribution of around $350,000 this year.
"At Dot, food is at the center of what we do. That's why we're passionate about helping lessen hunger and supporting our local food pantries who are working year-round toward ending hunger," said Joe Tracy, Dot Foods CEO. "Supporting the work of our local food pantries is the heart of our Neighbor-to-Neighbor program. It is neighbors helping neighbors, working together to make sure everyone can put a meal on their table."
According to Feeding America, in Illinois, one in nine people and one in six children struggle with hunger.
Each food pantry was given a list of available items from Dot's inventory. They were then able to select the products that would best address their specific needs. For each delivery, Dot volunteers helped the food pantry staff and volunteers in receiving and unloading their donations.
"We serve around 550 families a month, and the donation from Dot Foods will help us provide more food for those families," said Rachel Baker, manager at the Pike County TRCC Food Pantry. "Being able to select items like the laundry soap and some other toiletries was great. Those go really quickly, because our clients can't purchase them with food stamps, and we don't get those types of things donated very often."
Donna Walker, manager at Shepherd's Pantry Carthage also said the donation boosted the items their nonprofit can provide for their clients.
"We serve all of Hancock County, so our clients come from all over, and this donation is a blessing for lots and lots of people," she said. "We appreciate everything Dot does for our region!"
This is the fifth time Dot has hosted the Neighbor-to-Neighbor philanthropic program. In 2010, Dot contributed a full truckload of product to a Feeding America food bank in the area of each of its 10 locations as part of the company's 50th-anniversary celebration.
Then in 2014, Neighbor-to-Neighbor donated $50,000 to regional food banks near each of the company's locations. Since 2016, Dot has opted to donate directly to food pantries each year, allowing employees more visibility to the contributions at work in their own communities.