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Church donates 34,000 pounds of food to Illinois food bank

Church donates 34,000 pounds of food to Illinois food bank

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints makes a large food donation to the Central Illinois Foodbank. Photo: Contributed/Central Illinois Foodbank


Springfield, IL (WAND) – The Central Illinois Foodbank received a massive boost Wednesday morning with the delivery of more than 34,000 pounds of donated food.

The donation from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is part of “America Gives,” a nationwide service initiative celebrating the United States’ 250th anniversary. As part of the campaign, the Church is donating 250 truckloads of food to food banks across all 50 states throughout 2026.

The food received at the Springfield facility will be distributed across the foodbank’s 21-county service area, which provides more than eight million meals annually through a network of 140 local partner agencies.

“We came away from our visit incredibly impressed by the scope of the work Central Illinois Foodbank is doing,” said Bryan Leonard, president of the Springfield Illinois Stake of the Church. “They have built a remarkable network… We are grateful that this donation can support that work.”

A second truckload of food from the Church is already scheduled to be delivered in late September.

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