The city of Aurora last held a pop-up food pantry on Sept. 14. (Photo courtesy of city of Aurora)

As the effects of COVID-19 continue to impact our communities, food insecurity levels continue to rise. Aurora is coming together, once again, to fill in the gap.

The City of Aurora will host its fifth communitywide pop-up food pantry beginning at 9 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 12 at Phillips Park, 1000 Ray Moses Drive.

The no-contact drive-thru food distribution will provide food to more than 1,200 families.

Provided by the federal Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), the food distribution will include boxes of fresh and quality meat, dairy and produce.

“Our pop up pantries are a mixed blessing,” said Aurora Mayor Richard C. Irvin. “While we are happy to provide this much-needed service for our community, it is disheartening to see the need continue to grow during this pandemic. Thankfully, through our partnerships, we have the ability and opportunity to help.”

Nearly 100 volunteers and staff members will be onsite for the distribution.

The pop-up pantry is a partnership between the city of Aurora, the Northern Illinois Food Bank, the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry and the Quad County Urban League