Dot Foods donates $50,000 worth of food among 11 Mount Sterling area pantries in November

MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — The Dot Foods distribution center in Mount Sterling recently made a sizeable donation to area food pantries in November.

Through the company’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor program, the distribution center helped 11 area food pantries by delivering products from Dot’s current inventory for a total donation of $50,000 worth of food and other necessities in West Central Illinois.

The 2022 Neighbor-to-Neighbor recipient pantries in the Mount Sterling area are:

• Two Rivers Food Pantry (Mount Sterling )
• Cass County Food Pantry (Virginia)
• Jacksonville Area Community Food Center (Jacksonville)
• North Greene Area Food Pantry (White Hall)
• Outreach Community Center (Winchester)
• Schuyler County Food Basket (Rushville)
• Macomb Salvation Army (Macomb)
• Nauvoo Food Pantry (Nauvoo)
• Open Hands Lutheran Church of St. John (Quincy)
• Salvation Army (Quincy)
• Community for Christ Assistance Center (Camp Point)

Each food pantry selected products from a shopping list of Dot’s inventory that would best address their specific needs. Dot employees helped the food pantry staff and volunteers in receiving and unloading their donations at each location.

Dot’s charitable work starts at home with its 13 U.S. distribution centers supporting local food pantries throughout the year and each fall through the Neighbor-to-Neighbor program, which launched in 2014. The program’s focus on local pantries means assistance is going directly to help the communities Dot employees call home. The Neighbor-to-Neighbor program will donate $405,000 of food and products to 76 food panties across the U.S. in 2022.

In a press release, Melissa Hall, administrator at Jacksonville Food Center, said, “We will use the donation to give back to our less fortunate individuals who are unable to feed themselves and/or family members at no cost. We are excited to receive this donation as, at times, food can a burden and a heavy cost. This donation allows us to feed more than our average amount of people/families.”

“First and foremost, our board members are all amazed at the donations from Dot Foods each year,” said Nancy Lovekamp, treasurer at Schuyler County Food Basket. “We feel so fortunate to not only have the support of our ‘locals’, but to have you ‘step in’ in a big way makes all the difference to our recipients (those in need in Schuyler County). It’s such a boost to know we can come to you, especially with the extras we try to provide at the holidays. Being able to shop for our needs in the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program just added to our immense gratitude as it helped to free up some funds for other needs.”

Dot’s national Neighbor-to-Neighbor Program, which covers 76 pantries, will see a donation total of $405,000 of food and products across the United States in 2022.