Du Quoin's Weekend Warriors, volunteers, won't let kids go hungry
The Weekend Warriors of Du Quoin aren't going to let a little thing like the novel coronavirus stop them from getting food to hungry children.
The Warriors are local churches that provide food on Fridays for children whose families are food insecure. They bring the food into the Du Quoin schools and children collect it to take home to supplement their family's food stores over the weekend.
Now, with school out of session, the logistics have changed. The food is still being boxed and bagged by each church and brought to District 300, but now volunteers are delivering it to each child's home.
This week was a bigger lift, as the schools are normally off on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Monday following Easter.
"We got word we needed enough food to cover five days," said Pastor Lon McPherson of Liberty Church, one of the Weekend Warrior churches. The others that provided food this week are First United Methodist Church, Vision Church, Sunfield United Methodist Church, Spirit of Life Church and United Church of Christ.
On Wednesday, the food was brought in, and volunteers - all wearing masks - hopped on buses to drive around town and deliver it.
McPherson said Du Quoin churches have been doing the Weekend Warrior program for years, maybe as long as a decade. Now, it's up about to about 150 children each week, he said, as the number has inched up in the last few years.
Each church has a certain number of students they are buying food for, he added.
Over the Christmas holidays, each church in addition will drop a $10 gift card to McDonald's into the bag for each student they serve. The Du Quoin Ministerial Alliance adds another $10 gift card, so in total each child gets $20 to spend at McDonald's over the holidays.
Meanwhile, the District 300 meals - the Grab & Go Bags - continue to be available for curbside pickup from 10 a.m.-noon Monday to Friday at four locations, with both meals in one bag. Meals are free to children ages 0-18.
District 300 Superintendent Matt Hickam said the number of people coming to get the bags is holding steady.
On Wednesday, the final day before the long holiday weekend, they packed extra food into the bags, he said.