QC Eagle Scout candidate helps Moline food pantry
Jacob Dehm, a local Eagle Scout candidate in the Moline area, is helping St. Mary’s food pantry upgrade its current space, for his Eagle Scout project.
“I was really struggling to find an idea for my project and then my mom proposed this to me,” said Jacob Dehm, an Eagle Scout Candidate for Troop 243. “We actually come to this pantry often to volunteer. We’ve been volunteering since right before COVID.”
Volunteering at the food pantry made the restoration process a passions project for Jacob and his family. Jacob started a GoFundMe to allow the community an easy donation process to his project. He started the idea of restoring the food pantry to earn his way into the official Eagle Scout ranks.
“With the money from the GoFundMe, I’m going to purchase new shelves that will replace the old ones,” Dehm said. “I will also be installing labels for these shelves, to give the Hispanic translations for products on said shelves.”
Volunteers for the food pantry are appreciative of the restoration project because of the additions Jacob will make to the space.
“I think it’s fantastic because we serve over 250 families every month,” said Cusi Graf, a volunteer coordinator with St. Mary’s Food Pantry. “The fact that we can hold more food, and that we can maybe process a little bit faster is great. We’ll have a little bit more room that we can make a difference for our customers. For them, most of them use the bus, so it will improve their ability to move in and out of the pantry.”
The GoFundMe has surpassed Jacob’s goal of $1,600, and he doesn’t want it to stop now.
“If I get more than my goal, every single penny will be given back to the food pantry,” Jacob said. “They might do some maintenance, but the main thing will probably be the food.”
Graf says the money earned will help the pantry for years to come, since their budget does not allow them to make updates. “That money is for food,” Graf said. “We don’t have the money to upgrade things,. We have to be able to depend on someone like Jacob coming in and fixing things for us.”
To see the GoFundMe and donate, visit here.
