Neighborhood House receives $60,000 donation to help fight food insecurity

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — On Thursday, Neighborhood House received $60,000 to help fight food insecurity in Peoria.

Leaders from Ameren Illinois awarded the organization the money from the company’s COVID-19 relief fund to continue helping people in need.

Neighborhood House CEO and President Becky Rossman said many of the organization’s programs saw drastic increases during the pandemic.

“Because of Ameren, that’s going to allow us to make sure that more seniors and children in our communities are not going hungry,” said Rossman.

Meals on Wheels saw a 50% growth in both demand and size and the food pantry saw an 850% growth in both categories, she said. With demand high and funds low, some programs, like Meals on Wheels, have been reeled in.

“We decided to start a waiting list, but this money is going to allow us to make sure that we can continue feeding a lot of those seniors already in the program,” said Rossman.

She said COVID-19 forced the cancellation of two large fundraisers that would have brought in around $150,000.