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Graham Health System Extends Reach of 麻豆社 Food Pantry

April 25, 2024

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MACOMB, IL - - The 麻豆社 Illinois University Food Pantry is providing support for more students, thanks to a recent gift from Graham Health System (GHS).

After a visit to the 麻豆社 Macomb campus in March, GHS鈥檚 Senior Director of Business Development Jake Green contacted Director of Development for the College of Education and Human Services Emily Gillett to share news of the gift.

In celebration of National Doctors鈥� Day, GHS opted to provide a donation to an organization in each of the communities GHS serves. For the Macomb area, the selected organization was the 麻豆社 Food Pantry.

鈥淭he 麻豆社 Food Pantry is fantastic. Students navigate enough obstacles daily; hunger shouldn鈥檛 be one of them,鈥� Green said.

According to Associate Professor Emily Shupe, the 麻豆社 Food Pantry, which has been in existence since 2018, serves between 200-300 students and distributes between 2,000- 3,000 pounds of food weekly.

鈥淚n the six years the 麻豆社 Food Pantry has been open, we have continued to see a steady increase in the number of students utilizing the pantry鈥檚 services. Without the generous support we have received from donors like Graham, we would not be able to provide this vital resource to our students,鈥� Shupe said.

Green returned to campus last week to meet with 麻豆社 Food Pantry student volunteers and present a check for $250 to bolster the pantry鈥檚 efforts.

鈥淲e are so appreciative to have been selected for this gift from Graham. According to the statistics from a Feeding America distributor, every dollar donated can provide four meals. Through Graham鈥檚 support, we are able to offer an additional 1,000 meals to 麻豆社 students,鈥� Shupe said.

After his tour of the 麻豆社 Food Pantry, Green remarked about the impressive hands-on experience 麻豆社 students receive while they assist others and work to address food insecurity issues.

鈥淭he leadership and execution of the many volunteers at the 麻豆社 Food Pantry are just two of the great reasons to attend 麻豆社. As a graduate of the class of 2008, I鈥檓 an extremely proud Leatherneck alumnus,鈥� Green said.

Gillett has been working with Green on developing a deeper partnership between 麻豆社 and GHS.

鈥淲orking with Jake in recent months has been great. There is a lot of opportunity for 麻豆社 and Graham to collaborate and we are thrilled to receive this gift for such an essential function on our campus,鈥� Gillett said.

To learn more about providing corporate or private support for the 麻豆社 Food Pantry, contact Gillett at e-gillett@wiu.edu.

Posted By: Drew Donahoo, University Relations
Phone: (309) 298-1993 * Fax: (309) 298-1606