Local McDonald’s Pitch In To Help Area Food Pantries

Nine area McDonald's restaurants have promised to donate a nickle to local food pantries for every ice cream cone they sell through the end of August.  The money from Algonquin restaurants will go the Algonquin Lake in the Hills Interfaith Food Pantry, from Huntley's to the Grafton Food Pantry.

"Let's Put the Freeze on Hunger" started when the Crystal Lake Food Pantry began looking for a way to boost contributions during the Summer months when donations fall off. A Board member and friend suggested the nickle-a-cone idea to Singleton who liked it so much she not only signed up her own six restaurants but convinced corporate McDonald's to add three more company-owned stores to the roster.

Donations to food pantries drop in the Summer according to volunteers because so many local residents are on vacation.  By a rough estimate from FEN's daily reading totals, anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of everybody is elsewhere during any week between Memorial Day and Labor Day. "And obviously there is still a great need during the summer as well” Singleton explained.

Perversely, the need for food assistance may actually increase in the vacation months.  Many local children depend for part of their daily nutrition on subsidized or free meals at school.  But the programs either aren't available or are hard to get to when school's out.  District 158 feeds around 800 kids during the school year but not during vacation.  District 300 feeds close to 3,000 kids in its school year program.  The meals are still available during the summer months but only at five schools, all in the Carpentersville area.

Besides the Algonquin (both Algonquin Road and Randall Road locations) and the Huntley McDonald's shops, restaurants in Genoa and Hampshire, Fox River Grove, Crystal Lake (two locations) and Marengo will be part of the "Freeze on Hunger" donation campaign to support local food pantries.