Neighborhood House giving away 125 Easter dinners on Thursday
PEORAI, Ill. (WMBD) — A local nonprofit is ensuring families get to enjoy Easter dinner without breaking the bank.
Neighborhood House is giving away 125 dinners at its first Easter food pantry on Thursday, April 10. Each meal, consisting of ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans and drinks, is meant to serve a family of four.
'There's this community aspect of food that we take very seriously when people come to our food pantry. What we want to create an environment where they can take a food home and they can have the same Easter meal as every other family in our neighborhood,' said Noah Palm, community impact director at Neighborhood House.
Here's how it works: Doors open at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Families will be able to shop supermarket style, picking items they need off the shelves.
Palm said hunger in Peoria continues to grow. The need is up 20-30% compared to last year.
'We've increased the amount of food we can give away with our food pantry And the different things that we've done with the food pantry have made it more inviting to people,' he said.
The purpose of the event is to ensure families on tight budgets don't have to worry about paying for Easter dinner.
'I think the biggest thing is food insecurity is still a big issue in Peoria. And when we come together as a community during the times of holidays, not everybody has that ability to do that, to do that. And this food pantry makes it possible for just the most simple thing is sitting down as a family and having a meal together during the holidays,' said Palm.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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