Du Quoin Food Pantry adding 'kids bags' to weekly food distribution

The Du Quoin Food Pantry, on the city's west side, has a steady stream of clients every Thursday, and many of those clients have children.

So starting this week, the pantry is offering something new. In addition to the bags of food the 40-or-so volunteers put out from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursdays, they'll have another set of bags marked KIDS.

Inside those bags are kid-friendly foods, like peanut butter, jelly, chicken noodle soup, fruit cups, graham crackers and the like.

"We got some money from the Poshard Foundation, for children," said Ruth Hawkins, the treasurer and co-director of the Du Quoin Food Pantry. That grant is what is paying for these new kids' bags.

"This Thursday we'll start packing up more child-friendly food."

The pantry, along with the Western Egyptian Economic Opportunity Center on Washington Street, are the two major food pantries in Du Quoin.

The Du Quoin Food Bank, at 314 N. Maple St., is the older of the two, and has been around for at least 20 years. Their building used to house the local public aid office, until Perry and Jackson counties merged their public aid programs and moved out.

Much like WEEOC, the Du Quoin Food Pantry has consolidated its giveaways to one event each week instead of two, to limit exposure to COVID-19 for both clients and volunteers.

On Wednesdays, the Du Quoin pantry volunteers fill individual bags with the week's food, and on Thursday set the bags out onto a trailer outside the building. People who need food are invited to come from 9 a.m. to noon every Thursday and take a bag, no questions asked.

The pantry is open the first four Thursdays in each month. If a month has five Thursdays (like April), there is no pantry held on the 5th Thursday.

"During normal times we would serve only people in Perry County and there are income guidelines," Hawkins said. "Right now, we're not checking anything and we take their word for it.

"In the past, clients could come twice a month, now we're not keeping track."

Hawkins said the food pantry has its regular clients and since COVID-19 struck they put out about 60 bags a week. Last week, she said there were three new families who came - each said they were out of work.

Under non-COVID conditions, clients come into the pantry and shop for the food they want, almost all nonperishable, since the pantry has only three refrigerators.

"We get food from the St. Louis Area Food Bank, and donations from individuals and churches," Hawkins said, pointing out the food pantry was started by the Du Quoin Ministerial Association, and is still much supported by Du Quoin's churches.

Hawkins believes the pantry serves 700-750 people every month. She said once the pandemic is over, they will return to having a second food giveaway each week - which is from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursdays, and covers people who cannot come in the mornings.

The pantry is always looking for food and monetary donations. Drop off donations during the Thursday morning pantry, or call Ruth Hawkins to arrange a time at (618) 318-9822 or email her at ruthhawkins76@gmail.com.