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Rich Epperson of Naperville spent 27 years in the Marine Corp and was happy to see a lot of other veterans this past weekend at a special event held in Aurora. “I found about this because I now work for the Fox Valley Park District as a lifeguard and I went to a veteran’s luncheon that the park district sponsors every year and there was a flyer in a gift bag, which is how I found out,” Epperson said as he waited in his car Saturday at a local food bank. “My wife is retired and I only work part-time and this will help out with our food budget. My brother, who is also out of work – I’m going to give some of this to him.” With the Thanksgiving holiday soon to be upon us and food scarcity growing to even greater heights in the past few weeks, the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry stepped up to aid a special group of people this past weekend with a drive-thru food distribution that began at 10 a.m. For the next two hours, a Veterans Day special was offered for the first 150 vehicles that came to the site at 1110 Jericho Rd. in Aurora for those who have served in the military. The event was presented by the Fox Valley Marines and was sponsored by the technology and communications company Scientel Solutions as well as International Paper. Katie Arko, pantry executive director, said veterans and their families were invited and that other organizations would be on site to connect veterans to other area resources. “We have been doing a giveaway for veterans for the last few years – it’s been a tradition here for a while,” Arko said. “In terms of the number of people we can help this year – having 150 pre-made food boxes is more than we’ve had in the past for sure – this is the biggest giveaway we’ve had for Veterans Day.” Arko spoke about the current food shortages and issues exacerbated by the government shutdown and said “for sure, there’s a greater need across the board right now.” She added that there has been an extra effort “to give some really nice food boxes to [veterans’] families” by working with a local grocer to order meats and things that go with them.” “Working families, young families, elderly – the food prices coupled with the SNAP benefits frozen for now has been tough on a lot of people,” she said. “It’s not discriminating. I’ve been here nearly five years and have never seen the need as high as it is right now.” Arko said staff met before the giveaway and decided that there would be no policing in terms of the giveaway. “We’re not asking people to prove they are veterans,” she said. “We don’t want anyone turned away. This is geared towards veterans and their families – that’s what we’re hoping to see but we don’t want to turn anyone away. But veterans, by definition are selfless. We want to remind them that we’re here to help if you need assistance. We want you to come.” Dustin Dunn of Oswego was representing Fox Valley Marine Detachment 1233 and said his not-for-profit group “had been working the last month on this project [the food giveaway] and we help multiple food pantries in the area.” “We help veterans in need and we help out in the community where we can. We’ve got 150 boxes and plan to blow through all of them – we’ve got people lined up already,” he said as he and his family and others prepared to load the backs of cars. “This has been a couple of months in terms of planning. We started boxing things up last week to get ready for this. We hear the vets are very thankful in today’s environment.” Oswego resident Travis Jorgensen was among the first in line Saturday. An Air Force veteran who was wounded in action, he said getting the food donation “would help with the kids at home and making sure that there’s food on the table.” “I like that they set aside a day for vets – I wish there were more days that we honor vets as this is a sacrifice that lasts for the rest of your life when you serve,” he said. “We normally come here to the food pantry and they sent us a flyer, which is how I heard about it.” Melody Hayes of Montgomery said she served in the Marines for four years from 1993 through 1997 and that “getting this food box today is going to help out greatly as far as the food bill goes.” “I found out about this after someone sent it to me from social media,” she said. “I’m grateful they are doing this – it’s a great idea.”
