Piatt County residents will be able to participate in a growing program through a central Illinois non-profit starting this week. 

Community Action's food pantry coop program has been wildly successful in DeWitt and Logan Counties, and now the agency is taking it to Piatt County. According to Breann Titus with Community Action, they plan to expand the program to all the counties in their service area. 

Community members sign up to be a member of the food pantry and according to Titus, they then are given various volunteer work within the agency, and once a week, that work results in them being able to shop the pantry. 

According to Titus, they find most of the people that participate in their program in DeWitt and Logan Counties want to work for their food and not just receive a handout. She adds they have even seen the need for this program increase through the pandemic because of the loss of jobs in their communities.

Community Action has a partnership with the Midwest Food Bank and they get food once-a-month. Additionally, Titus adds they receive private food donations and monetary donations from local organizations and churches. 

Visit capcil.info or find Community Action on Facebook to learn more. Additionally, the coordinator of the Piatt County Program is Pam Shephard, and Monday she will be at their Monticello office 1115 North State Street for the grand opening of the program for anyone that would like to stop in and talk to her.