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Galesburg Branch and FISH Pantry Has Grand Opening

An in-process photo of the Pantry and Food Bank

Knox County and nearby counties in western Illinois will now have a food bank, and Galesburg has a food pantry for its residents.

On Tuesday, an open house and ribbon cutting was held for the River Bend Food Bank, Galesburg Branch, and FISH of Galesburg food pantry.
Joshua Gibb is the President and CEO of the Galesburg Community Foundation.

Drawing of the Bank and Pantry

"So the food bank that's based out of the Quad Cities, supplies food to food pantries in 23 counties. The food bank is accessed by food pantries, the food pantry is accessed by individuals who need food."

Gibb says the Galesburg Community Foundation owns the building and is renting it to the food bank and the pantry.

Service Area of the Galesburg Branch

The building covers eighteen thousand square feet and about a quarter of the space is a freezer and cooler on land provided by the city and a grant from the International Lions Club.

"It represents this partnership and this collaboration of the organization who feel the responsibility to come up with the best plan possible, for addressing some of the infrastructure things, that prevent people from getting healthy food faster."

The FISH of Galesburg food pantry will be open Monday through Friday 10 am to 3 pm at 876 West Main Street. The Galesburg Branch of the River Bend Food Bank will distribute to Knox County and seven others, with pantries in Henry, Stark, and Fulton.

Susanna Kemerling is WVIK Quad Cities NPR's 2022 Fellowship Host/Reporter. She graduated from Northern Illinois University for Media Studies in Communication and spent the last year working as a Teaching Assistant through the graduate program at NIU.