Galesburg Reporter

Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church runs a food pantry in Galesburg that has seen an increase in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But even with the financial hardship many individuals are facing, the food bank has been able to meet the demand. Champ Coleman, who helps out at the church's food bank, said food requests have risen, but his church has enough food to distribute, according to the Register Mail. 

FISH Food Pantry has also been able to keep shelves stocked and families fed, the newspaper reports. 

“We’ve seen probably the average number of people,” FISH Secretary Joy Behrens said. “There are other good organizations in town that are providing food. We’ve been moderately busy, I would say ... But as time goes on and unemployment gets worse, I see a busy time for us.”

Coleman said the Bethesda pantry saw an increase in demand a few weeks ago, but is till able to keep up with the amount of people needing food. 

“About five or six weeks ago we started to see an increase,” Coleman told the Register Mail. "We’re helping about 100 or 200 people a week and they’re normally leaving with a week’s worth of groceries. Currently, we’re not needing donations. But I definitely see us ramping up for that. I’m getting more emergency calls than I ever have in the past.”

While Coleman's church doesn't need donations, FISH is funded by the United Way and private donors. The pantry is accepting monetary donations.

“We’ve been blessed with financial assistance from the community in the past couple of weeks...The community has been very generous. We’ve asked that people not bring in food donations just for the health factor," Behrens told the Register Mail. “Our biggest challenge is keeping the shelves stocked...It can go so quickly.”