To help families prepare for the upcoming colder months, the police department is hosting a food drive to collect donations to give to the Project Hope Food Pantry.

“Even in a community like Barrington there’s still families and people who need help and support especially as it comes to food, more so now with inflation impacting everybody,” Officer Garrett Oberkircher said. “So we are looking to try and help and support those families and people, we thought a food drive would be a great way to partner with the community.”

The food drive will be held Nov. 18 from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. at both Jewel Osco and Heinen’s grocery store, with different themes for each store. It aims to collect food for and around the holiday season.

“Recognizing that we are trying to help those around us, you may not realize that there are people around you everyday that are in need of various things, this would just be one of those. Especially during the holiday season, be on the lookout to see how you can help those around you,” Oberkircher said.

Those looking to donate to ‘Stuff a Squad’ should drop off all donations at Heinen’s Grocery store at 500 N Hough St. While those looking to donate to ‘Fill a Hummer’ should drop off all donations at Jewel Osco on 150 W Main St.

Alongside the one-day food drive, the police department is holding a month-long food drive accepting items in the lobby of the police department at 400 N Northwest Highway from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. up until Dec 16, 2022.

“The Project Hope food pantry is not denominational, you don’t have to be a part of the church to use it, it’s for the community, so all that food is going to go and help serve the Barrington community area,” Oberkircher said.
Items they are looking for include: Soups, stews, grain breakfast items, canned or dried beans, Canned fish or meat, peanut butter or other nut butters, pasta sauce, canned tomatoes, shelf stable milk and canned vegetables.

“Be thankful for what you have and share what you can,” School Research Officer Eve Gaitan said.