NEWS

FISH Food Pantry helps people in many ways

Tom Loewy
tloewy@register-mail.com
Gene Tribbey breaks down some boxes Tuesday inside FISH Food Pantry. Tribbey has worked as a volunteer there for 15 years.

TOM LOEWY/The Register-Mail

Diana Copeland's son committed suicide Jan. 7, 2008.

The 66-year-old former administrative assistant to District 205's superintendent recalled the day — and the feelings — while standing inside the place she found some salvation.

"I found FISH Food Pantry and sometimes I wonder if it found me. Or if we weren't meant to find each other," Copeland said Tuesday afternoon. "My son was 36 years old and an alcoholic and there were parts to life that were just too hard for him.

"But when it happens — when someone you love, when a child — takes their own life you are left with guilt. You carry it with you. It still hurts today. Guilt is what is left behind and sometimes it seems like it will just swallow you."

Copeland retired from the school district in 2007. She went to work at Carl Sandburg College, but following her son's death she struggled to find purpose.

"I love helping people. I think we all like helping people, but there was just something so important in it for me," Copeland said. "I felt trapped. I had energy and no where to put it. Now FISH is my passion.

"I love the people I work with. I love the people we help. It has been a life-saver."

Copeland is just one of roughly 50 volunteers who help serve food stuffs to people who make a total of 17,000 to 18,000 visits to FISH every year. The volunteers are everyday people like Bev Linn and Gene Tribbey and Daisy Stufflebeem and Cecilia Clevidence.

"Jack Larson got me involved — must have been, maybe, 15 years ago. It's hard to keep track," Tribbey said. "Things have changed. We have more customers now than we did back then."

Tribbey is a spry 90 years old. He carries the heavy stuff around with Ray Hays, at 61 a youngster in the group.

"I'm here because one day five years ago I walked into this place and asked if I could help," Hays said. "Gene (Tribbey) over there said 'Take your coat off and get to work.' So that's what I did."

Stufflebeem is 82 years old and dedicated her life to volunteer efforts.

"I'm retired and I started volunteering at the school and at church," Stufflebeem said. "Then my husband passed away.

"I couldn't think of a better way to pass my time. Helping others is always good for you."

Clevidence works the books for FISH, taking call-in requests and processing each person or family's needs.

"The calls for assistance come into Cottage Hospital, then they are sent to me," Clevidence explained. "This morning we already had 30 names. I take general information about each person in the family, ages of the children, if the family receives food stamps or the medical card or the various types of Social Security.

"It isn't an in-depth process, but we ask people for basic information."

Anyone seeking food assistance can use FISH Food Pantry's services once every 30 days. You can call (309) 343-7807. The facility, located at 688 Hawthorne Court, is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

You will be asked for a photo identification and to verify your current address.

"This was a rough year," Copeland said. "There were times during the late summer and early fall when the place was bare and there was almost no money in our account.

"But the community came through for us. The Community Foundation grant was $20,000 and it came at just the right time. And people from all over the community try to help us."

While Copeland spoke of her passion, a person walked in and donated $50 toward the pantry's efforts.

"Maybe this is part of it for me," Copeland said after she looked at the check made out to FISH. "To see others give to strangers, that gives me hope.

"It keeps my mind focused on all the positive things out there in the world — the things that are so easy to loose sight of."

 Tom Loewy: (309) 343-7181, ext. 256; tloewy@register-mail.com; @tomloewy