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L-R: Christian Torres, junior Food Pantry volunteer from Macomb; Emily Gillettt, Jake Green, Emily Shupe and Victor Ibiam, graduate student from Nigeria.
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Graham Health System Extends Reach of WIU Food Pantry

April 25, 2024

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MACOMB, IL - - The Western Illinois University Food Pantry is providing support for more students, thanks to a recent gift from Graham Health System (GHS).

After a visit to the WIU Macomb campus in March, GHS's Senior Director of Business Development Jake Green contacted Director of Development for the College of Education and Human Services Emily Gillett to share news of the gift.

In celebration of National Doctors' Day, GHS opted to provide a donation to an organization in each of the communities GHS serves. For the Macomb area, the selected organization was the WIU Food Pantry.

"The WIU Food Pantry is fantastic. Students navigate enough obstacles daily; hunger shouldn't be one of them," Green said.

According to Associate Professor Emily Shupe, the WIU Food Pantry, which has been in existence since 2018, serves between 200-300 students and distributes between 2,000- 3,000 pounds of food weekly.

"In the six years the WIU Food Pantry has been open, we have continued to see a steady increase in the number of students utilizing the pantry's services. Without the generous support we have received from donors like Graham, we would not be able to provide this vital resource to our students," Shupe said.

Green returned to campus last week to meet with WIU Food Pantry student volunteers and present a check for $250 to bolster the pantry's efforts.

"We are so appreciative to have been selected for this gift from Graham. According to the statistics from a Feeding America distributor, every dollar donated can provide four meals. Through Graham's support, we are able to offer an additional 1,000 meals to WIU students," Shupe said.

After his tour of the WIU Food Pantry, Green remarked about the impressive hands-on experience WIU students receive while they assist others and work to address food insecurity issues.

"The leadership and execution of the many volunteers at the WIU Food Pantry are just two of the great reasons to attend WIU. As a graduate of the class of 2008, I'm an extremely proud Leatherneck alumnus," Green said.

Gillett has been working with Green on developing a deeper partnership between WIU and GHS.

"Working with Jake in recent months has been great. There is a lot of opportunity for WIU and Graham to collaborate and we are thrilled to receive this gift for such an essential function on our campus," Gillett said.

To learn more about providing corporate or private support for the WIU Food Pantry, contact Gillett at e-gillett@wiu.edu.

Posted By: Drew Donahoo (AM-Donahoo@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing