Prairie State Wire

I stood in line at Dollar General and couldn’t help but notice the fellow ahead of me in line was buying 12-gallon jugs of milk.

The first thing that ran through my mind is, “He’s part of the problem. He’s hoarding food supplies.”

A few weeks before, I had to drive to nine Springfield-area stores to find just one gallon of milk for my family. 

So, a fellow buying 12 gallons didn’t sit well with me. I even made a snide comment to the cashier after the fellow left. 

She set me straight. 

The cashier explained, “When this crisis started, he created his own food bank.  He pays for the milk out of his own pocket and delivers it to the doors of people in need.”

We should never prejudge someone. 

I’d soured a bit on human nature earlier in that same day, when I took one of my daughters to the doctor for a skin infection. Our family practitioner, who we know from church, shared that she can no longer keep surgical masks and gloves in her exam rooms because patients keep stealing boxes of them, since the pandemic began.

Who would steal protection from health care professionals during a pandemic? 

The great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “Sports doesn’t build character. It reveals it.” 

I think that can also be said of how people act during times of crisis. Some people choose to steal from doctors and nurses while others try to feed a community. 

I was left wondering, “Who is this guy who is trying to feed a village?” Riverton and its sister city Spaulding have a population of about 4,000. It’s a working-class town where 58 percent of the children in school are receiving free or reduced cost lunches – the highest percentage of any school district in Sangamon County. The town is about five miles from Springfield. 

Having lived in the community for nearly 15 years, I can say it has a generous spirit. When Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Gulf Coast in 2017, individuals filled two semi-tractor trailers with donated food, diapers and other critically needed supplies. 

That effort was led by Jeb Brown. 

To look at him, he seems an ordinary working Joe. He drives an old truck and tools around town in blue jeans, a t-shirt and a baseball cap.

A Rockefeller he is not. 

But he’s found a way funnel tens of thousands of dollars in food to hungry folks in Riverton since the COVID 19 crisis began in March. 

“Every day, we feed 70 to 100 families and the really cool thing is about the same number of people donate to us. That’s what keeps us going,” Brown said. Food donations also come in the form of in-kind donations from some Springfield-area charities. 

Brown said he personally purchases all the milk that is given away. 

To handle the donations, fifteen Riverton residents formed a Kiwanis club. 

“When folks make a donation, they make out the check to the Kiwanis club – not to me, “ said Brown, who is the club’s first president. “There are a lot of people in need – hair stylists, waitresses and others who never had food security issues before.”

Because pride is a factor that deters some from taking assistance, Brown said they have placed a “blessing box” in the parking lot of the local high school. This allows people to accept the donations without being seen by their neighbors. 

“We really haven’t had much of a problem with people abusing this. They just drive up take what they need from the box and drive away,” he said. 

For folks fearful of leaving their homes, Brown said he delivers food to their doors. 

Just how many dollars of food has the Kiwanis club given away since the COVID 19 crisis began? Brown said, it’s hard to say because much of what they receive is in the form of in-kind contributions. But he placed the figure at over $100,000. 

So, what motivates a person to help?

Brown puts it this way, “Riverton has been good to my family. And now I want to do something good for Riverton.” 

– Scott Reeder is a veteran statehouse journalist and a freelance reporter. ScottReeder1965@gmail.com.