Making a BIG difference for some local little free pantries
Bloomington-Normal is thrilled to host The Best Basketball This Side of March every year. The State Farm Holiday Classic has a long history of bringing some of the best teams and fans together from across the state — and nation — for four days of outstanding high school hoops during the holidays.
The Holiday Classic also has a rich tradition of giving back to the community. We’re continuing that tradition this year and asking for assistance as we partner with local little free pantries this holiday season.
First Christian Church recently took steps to address a need they’d identified in their neighborhood near downtown Bloomington. They’re located in a low-income area of Bloomington with a large number of unhoused people in a food desert, providing little opportunity for purchasing healthy food locally.
In November, the church opened a free little food pantry called “The Helping Shelf” which seeks to provide those in the neighborhood with essential food and personal care items. The response has been overwhelming and they are joining with a number of other local free food pantries in Bloomington-Normal this holiday season.
We’re asking the generous teams, fans and volunteers of the State Farm Holiday Classic to help make sure the shelves of these little free pantries are stocked through the season!
Each of our venues will have receptacles throughout the tournament where needed items can be dropped off.
The items most needed are:
- Nonperishable food items
- Personal care and toiletry items
- Paper products
- Winter hats/gloves/mittens/scarves.
These donations will help support First Christian Church Disciples of Christ, Bloomington, IL, West Bloomington Revitalization Project, Illinois Wesleyan University, and First United Methodist Church, Normal, IL.
Let’s make a BIG difference for these little free pantries in Bloomington-Normal this year.
On behalf of those who will benefit from the generosity of tournament attendees, we offer a big “thank you!”
