ROCHELLE – It was a record setting haul of food and donations for the 20th Annual 2-Ton Thanksgiving Food Drive hosted by 102.3 The Coyote, SuperHits 93.5!, and Prescott Brothers Ford. On Thursday dozens of area businesses, organizations, and individuals in the community contributed not only hundreds of pounds of non-perishible food items, but over $30,000 in monetary donations.
Rochelle Christian Food Pantry Manager TyAnne Unger said this event is truly a blessing.
“This is just a wonderful, wonderful asset for our community,” Unger said. “There’s not a lot of other places that do this, and we are always so blessed with the food we have”
Prescott Brothers Ford in Rochelle opened their showroom for the 2-Ton Thanksgiving Food Drive, providing a new Ford Ranger to fill and opening their doors for contributions.
Prescott Brothers Ford in Rochelle General Sales Manager Chad Young noted that the numbers are staggering.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “Looking at over four pallets of food that was dropped off today, that are literally stacked up higher than I’ve ever seen.”
The community also gathered over $30,000 for the Rochelle Area Christian Food Pantry that will go towards purchasing much needed items to feed the community. They said that the organization can stretch those dollars much further, as much as eight times more than a regular consumer could spend on groceries.
Young was appreciative of everyone stepping up to answer the call to help those facing food insecurity this winter.
“It’s wild to think about. And the fact I can’t thank the community enough for everybody pulling together the amount of donations that were dropped off, it was just absolutely amazing.”
Unger said that donations will continue to be needed due to overwhelming demand.
“We serve people in Ogle County and our numbers last month were 744, which was double from the previous year. So there is more need than ever” she said.
Frozen turkeys, canned goods, pasta and more were collected and will be given to the Rochelle Area Christian Food Pantry. On Saturday, a Thanksgiving food distribution event will also take place at Prescott Brothers Ford in Rochelle starting at 9 AM. For more information about the distribution, call (815)562-6654.
