Crystal Lake company hosting mobile food drive

Crystal Lake-based roofing company RAES Solutions is hoping to make donating food as easy as possible this holiday season by coordinating a holiday mobile food drive.

Anyone can use their QR code or go on their website to schedule a pick-up, leave food out on the doorstep, and RAES will do the rest. The scheduled pickup days are Dec. 15 and Jan. 5. The team will accept donation sign-ups until Dec. 13 for the first date and Jan. 3 for the second date.

Roofing companies that work with RAES Solutions will go around the county and pick up food left outside participating homes and deliver the food to Crystal Lake Food Pantry and the Empower Boone Food Pantry.

RAES Solutions is a family-owned consulting and technology company based in Crystal Lake that helps local roofing businesses grow.

Founder and CEO Robert Budron has hosted dozens of food drives in the past in Boone County where he is from. This year, Budron wanted to implement a new way of donating food that could make replenishing food pantries after the holidays as easy as possible.

“Everybody probably has that can of beans or that box of pasta that has been sitting in their cupboard for a couple of months that they’re probably never going to get to,” he said.

The goal is to roll out this idea as a pilot and help other communities organize the same kind of event, Budron said. He hopes to implement mobile drives more broadly and frequently in the future.

“I want RAES to be a positive force for Crystal Lake,” he said.

The drive is accepting items other than nonperishable foods such as baby food, diapers and personal hygiene products, Budron said.

“After the holidays, a lot of donations drop off, and we still have folks in need,” he said.

This is the first time the Crystal Lake Food Pantry will participate in a mobile food drive, President Paul Georgy said.

“I wish I would have thought of it. It’s certainly a great idea.”

The pantry has received about 70,000 pounds of food in past holiday seasons, which in those days would last a couple of months. More recently, that amount usually lasts the pantry only about six weeks, Georgy said.

“We’ve got a lot of food coming in right now and it’s great,” he said. “A little later is not a bad thing for us.”

Much-needed items include pancake mix and syrup, since the pantry is out of that, Georgy said. Ramen noodles, canned chili and soups, and paper products such as toilet paper always are top-needed products.

The pantry also needs more volunteers to keep it running smoothly. People can sign up with their available times on the Crystal Lake Food Pantry website, Georgy said.

“Gratitude and giving are very important in our world right now,” he said. “It’s not a chore, it’s a pleasure for me.”