Some have had to reduce hours or services and others are using reserve funds to continue. Although these groups receive funding from Prairieland United Way, those funds are also limited and were already allocated before the budget battle began. As a way to raise awareness and support for some of these agencies, Prairieland United Way and the Journal-Courier are providing profiles of the groups. These will appear every other Sunday in the Journal-Courier and online at myjournalcourier.com.
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Cass County Food Pantry
Reaching us: 210 S. Main St., Virginia, IL 62691; 217-473-5638
What we do: The purpose of the Cass County Food Pantry is to supply supplemental food items to the needy, the ill and infants residing in Cass County.
What areas we serve: All of Cass County
Our story: The food pantry was initially started in Virginia as the Virginia Food Pantry as part of the Ministerial Alliance in the 1980s. As other parts of the county were in need, we filed the appropriate paperwork to become a 501(c)3 corporation and became the Cass County Food Pantry Inc. We initially started out in the basement of Grace Lutheran Church and outgrew that space.
In 2005, we moved to the old Hotel Mann building on the square in Virginia. Our needs continued to increase and Doc Holliday retired from his chiropractic business and donated his entire building to the food pantry. The food pantry had a few fundraisers to modify the space we use for our food pantry.
With the help of grants, we have been fortunate to get a walk-in cooler and freezer for our needs. The entire operation is run by volunteers. We are currently serving about 320 families a month.
Our needs: Currently our only need is donations to purchase food. Every month our shelves are bare after distribution. Our equipment is all fairly new and do not have any needs at the present time.
How to help: Any contribution of money or food is greatly appreciated and always needed. All cash contributions are tax-deductible.
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Cass County Food Pantry is one of the agencies supported at least in part by Prairieland United Way, which helps in providing services to more than 45,000 people. For more information, call 217-245-4557.