The Lake County Journal article, “As needs ‘skyrocket,’ nonprofits adapt to help struggling families” describes the efforts of many local nonprofit organizations (and GFF grantees Northern Illinois Food Bank, Bernie’s Book Bank and Twice as Nice Mother and Child) to partner to meed the growing needs of their clients.
In demand more than ever, nonprofit organizations throughout Lake County are doing their part to feed the needs of families.
They’ve adapted their distribution methods in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and many are partnering to tackle the crisis.
**To accommodate that need, Northern Illinois Food Bank now hosts drive-thru Pop-Up Markets to distribute food. The organization has helped more than 6,000 families since its first market in April.
**The May 9 Pop-Up Market also helped feed the minds of children. Books were handed out to families through a Northern Illinois Food Bank partnership with Lake Bluff-based Bernie’s Book Bank. All families received what Bernie’s Book Bank calls “Family Fun Packs” – bags of six books for children ages birth through sixth grade – as part of the organization’s new Change Their Story program.
**Hosting a mobile diaper pantry at locations throughout Lake County, Waukegan-based Twice as Nice has seen the demand for diapers double as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Ann Marie Mathis, the nonprofit organization’s founder and executive director. Panic buying, hoarding, job loss and shelter-in-place orders have forced more families to turn to nonprofit diaper banks such as Twice as Nice, which is depleting available supplies, she said. Since March 18, Twice as Nice has received 541 new requests for help with diapers.