DuPage Township, Meijer Partner For Hunger Relief Program

BOLINGBROOK, IL — DuPage Township has announced a partnership with Meijer to provide relief to families in the Romeoville and Bolingbrook area facing food insecurity through Meijer's hunger relief program, Simply Give, according to a release from the township.

“Unlike the holiday season, hunger doesn’t have a season. Working families and others who were most affected by the pandemic struggle year-round to recover from the economic hardship of the past two years. In fact, the number of families served has continued to rise each month,” Gary Marschke, Supervisor of DuPage Township, said.

Each Meijer Simply Give campaign replenishes the shelves of more than 250 food pantries in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Wisconsin, according to the township. The program encourages customers to purchase $10 Simply Give donation cards, which are then converted into Meijer food-only gift cards and given to a local food pantry in the store’s community.

The DuPage Township Food Pantry will benefit from donation cards purchased at the Meijer at 755 E. Boughton Road in Bolingbrook. The campaign runs through April 2.

Meijer will also double match any cards which are purchased on March 5 and March 26, the township said.

Meijer customers shopping online using Meijer pickup or home delivery can also purchase Simply Give donation cards as an add-on to their orders.

“The events of the last nearly two years have taught us all the importance of community members
supporting each other,” said David Locke, pantry spokesperson and manager with the food pantry. “We encourage community members to help us feed their neighbors facing food insecurity in [the] Romeoville/Bolingbrook area this winter season by purchasing a Meijer Simply Give food donation card during their next shopping trip.”

Meijer donated more than $7.6 million to Simply Give food pantry partners in 2020.

“The cold winter months are a difficult time for people facing food insecurity and food pantries continue to struggle to keep up with the flood of requests they receive daily, especially given the difficult circumstances many families now face amidst the global pandemic,” Cathy Cooper, Senior Director of Community Partnerships and Giving for Meijer, said in a release. “The Simply Give program is a way for Meijer customers to partner with us and support the food banks and pantries that feed families in need in their own communities. We certainly couldn’t do it without the support and commitment of our generous customers and team members, who stand beside us in this effort.”

The DuPage Township food pantry is at 719 Parkwood Ave., in Romeoville.