Client visits increase at area food pantries
STERLING – While not in danger of closing anytime soon, Helping Hands Food Pantry has seen its clientele expand.
The pantry is open Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1208 E. Fourth St. Thursday, 110 people were served.
The same is true at Community Food Pantry, 2001 W. Fourth St. in Dixon, which served 270 families, or nearly 900 people, in August, pantry President Delores Kness said.
“We had a big influx in July,” Kness said. More than 300 families or 1,031 people, walked through its doors.
The pantry generally serves, on average, 285 families, receiving 30 new clients a month.
“It stays pretty steady, really,” Kness said.
Steady is an understatement at Helping Hands. The agency served 145 people in 2000. So far this year, that number is at 5,800, coordinator Bob Inboden said.
Helping Hands also gives out furniture. Volunteers spent the last 2 days delivering furniture and collecting mattresses donated by Knie Appliance & TV.
“We really rely very much on donations,” Inboden said.
