Have you ever been really hungry — stomach hurting and there is no food in the house nor any money or means to purchase food? That is the situation in the homes of over 30,000 people right here in central Illinois at least once a month.

That is the reason that, for 34 years, the Peoria Area Anti-Hunger Coalition has conducted the Foodshare Canathon.

The 2018 Foodshare Canathon will run Monday, February 26, 2018 through Friday, March 18, 2018. Canathon bags will be inserted in the Peoria Journal Star on Monday, February 26th. The neighborhood canned food drive will be on Sunday, March 4th from 1:00 to 4:00pm.

Please place your bag of food on your doorstep. If no one comes to your door, please drop it in one of the many drop-off bins. Collection bins will be in place at all Kroger supermarkets, Peoria fire stations, Subway restaurants, WBNH in Pekin, WCIC in Peoria, and Curves. Collection bins will be in place until March 18th.

We are asking people to fill the bags with canned and non-perishable foods such as canned meat, tuna, soups, stews, chili, peanut butter, canned fruits or vegetables, or boxed dinner mixes.

If you would rather purchase an already filled bag, Kroger Supermarkets will have pre-bagged bags of Canathon food for purchase in all their stores for $3.00, $5.00, or $10.00. Simply purchase a bag at Krogers and drop it in the Foodshare Canathon bin.

The Neighborhood Canned Food Drive will be on Sunday, March 4th from 1:00 to 4:00pm.

Volunteers are being recruited to go door-to-door to collect food. To volunteer, contact Pepper Bauer at peepperbauer@att.net or phone her at 309-697-5762. Volunteers will register in Peoria at University United Methodist Church, 2818 North University. For other registration sites around central Illinois, contact Pepper. Volunteers are collecting in Peoria, Bartonville, East Peoria, Creve Coeur, Princeville, Lacon, Chillicothe, Farmington, and other communities. We welcome you to organize a collection group.

A large number of churches are sponsoring Canathon Sunday on Sunday, March 4th. The churches will pass out Canathon bags on Sunday, February 25th and ask members to bring them back to church on March 4th. The collected food will then go to an area food pantry serving those in need. The Peoria Area Anti-Hunger Coalition will supply churches with the Canathon bags. To schedule participation in Canathon Sunday, contact Marjorie LaFont at mlafont@illinois.edu, by phone 309-243-5446, or cell 309-696-0223.

The winter of 2018 has been a very harsh one, and our emergency food pantries are being stretched to the limits. We encourage you to give generously to help your neighbors in need!

Cash donations may be sent to Peoria Area Anti-Hunger Coalition Treasurer, 9908 West Indian Ridge Court, Edwards, Illinois 61528.

Contact Marjorie LaFont at 309-243-5446, 309-696-0223, or mlafont@illinois.edu. Pepper Bauer can be reached at
309-697-5762, or e-mail pepperbauer@att.net.

Join us in supporting the 34th Annual Foodshare Canathon!

Door-to-door collection will be Sunday, March 4th, 2018 from 1 to 4pm.

Place your canned food donation in special canathon bags and at your door by 12 noon, or drop it off at your Kroger Food Store,
any Peoria Neighborhood Fire Station, Curves, or participating Subways from February 26th to March 16th.