Some Aurora area families in need got a special holiday surprise this week thanks to a food pantry’s Easter basket giveaway.
The Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry offered local families the Easter baskets earlier this week while supplies lasted.
Organizers said about 350 baskets were given away to registered patrons who received up to two baskets.
Four area churches – Our Lady of Mercy Catholic, St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox, St. Mark’s Lutheran and New England Congregational – all made contributions to the program along with Quality Care Chiropractic of Aurora.
Becky Dunnigan, who serves as community impact manager for the food pantry, said the giveaway was deliberately not advertised. It was the third year the Easter basket program has been offered.
The program started while the pandemic was going on and continues to fill a need, she said.
“We have about the same number of filled Easter baskets as we have in the past. I think just with inflation and other organizations and churches struggling as well that that’s the amount we were able to provide,” Dunnigan said. “We started back when COVID was still more prevalent and families were struggling. Adults had lost their jobs and kids were at home. Some parents couldn’t go to work and it was a difficult time.”
Coming out of the pandemic, Dunnigan said families are now facing other issues including inflation as well as losing some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits “which have been cut severely.”
“Many families are also losing their Medicaid benefits now so insurance is going to become a cost for many families,” she said earlier this week. “As far as the basket distribution goes we’ll be checking to see if the families coming through have children or not and people won’t know until the end that they are getting a basket. It will be a bit of a surprise.”
Baskets were filled with a variety of children’s toys, books, candy and more.
By late Tuesday morning, officials said there were barely more than a dozen baskets left to be given away in the program, which was planned to run through Thursday.
Volunteers working this week to help with the distribution included students like Adan Rocha, 18, of Aurora who attends Aurora Christian High School.
“I’m here just giving back to the community. We have a service week for our school and we are donating our time to give back to people in need and doing anything that is possible to help the community,” he said. “I think this Easter basket thing is very cool. Some people might not have an Easter and for them (the pantry) to give back to kids that are in need is truly a blessing. It’s going to make today a little more fun.”
One of the first to get two of the remaining baskets Tuesday was Yolanda Pasillas of Aurora, who said she has four children between the ages of 9 and 16.
Pasillas was surprised to learn she was getting the gift baskets and said they would be “something really nice, really good for the family.”
“I’m going to put the baskets away until Sunday morning. I’m going to keep them in my car until then and surprise them,” she said. “It’s going to be something really nice.”
Teresa Harris of Aurora said she has two grandchildren ages 13 and 7 who would likewise be receiving the surprise baskets.
“Besides getting food this is a wonderful surprise and was unexpected, so it really is a nice surprise,” Harris said. “The kids have a dance class today and they’ll be out of the house so when they come back from the class then they’ll have maybe a little surprise waiting for them. Easter is going to come a little early.”
Guadalupe Fernandez of Aurora also received a basket for her three grandchildren and one child of her own.
“I’m super excited to get something for the kids. This is going to make Easter a little better,” she said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
