Locals holding drives for the area’s food pantries

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Barrington Sunday, 2/12/12 St. Matthew Lutheran Church lay minister, Sue Mullen at the Barrington church Sunday morning. St. Matthew has been collecting fresh produce donations for a local food banks. | Brian O'Mahoney~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: May 9, 2012 10:15AM

The Barrington area has come together for several drives to benefit local food pantries.

One drive is a fresh fruit and vegetable drive taking place at both Community Church of Barrington, 407 S. Grove Ave., and St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 720 Dundee Ave., Barrington.

Rev. Zina Jacque of Community Church of Barrington said she learned from her local food pantries that during the summer months, the pantries get plenty of fresh produce, but not so in the winter months.

“The Bible reminds us over and over to help our neighbors,” Jacque said. “... This is just another extension of us reaching out to help our neighbors.”

Community Church of Barrington will collect fresh produce on the fourth Sunday of every month through May. January was the first month the church aimed to collect fresh produce and filled an SUV to the brim for donations to the food pantry of Barrington Township. The next collection will take place Feb. 26.

St. Matthew Lutheran Church did their first collection in December and have already completed three months of collections. St. Matthew Lutheran Church collects fresh produce the second Sunday of every month.

“We are trying to respond to the needs of our community in a loving way that Jesus would have us do it,” said Sue Mullen, certified lay minister at the church. She added her church learned of the food pantry’s needs through Jacque.

Mullen said the church has had a great response to the collection and donated more than 200 pounds of produce to Barrington Township in January.

“I just knew when (Jacque) talked about it, it was something our congregation would be interested in doing and a wonderful opportunity.”

Local residents Jay and Leslie Eiring, owners of bathhaus, 860 S. Northwest Highway, Barrington, are also hosting a food pantry drive. The owners of the bath and kitchen products and design business will collect tissue and toilet paper for the bathroom and paper towels and napkins for the kitchen, for donation to the Barrington Township Food Pantry. The drive kicked off on Tuesday and will continue through March 1. Items can be dropped off between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“A lot of times with pantries here in Barrington, people think about food and not so much the paper necessities,” said Leslie.

The couple said that with their prominent location, it makes sense to host a drive. With their business located at the corner of Northwest Highway and Hillside Avenue, the two said their business is passed by resident son a daily basis. All donations will be stacked in front of the business’s window facing the roadway until they transport the items to the pantry.

“We just like to participate in helping out the village,” Jay said, adding the couple lives in the area, works in the area and their kids go to school in the Barrington 220 school district.

Leslie has high hopes of filling a bathhaus box truck full of items for the food pantry.