Honeywell volunteers, Pretzel Pickers collect litter and pack roughly 200–300 meal kits for local pantries

Heather Bush, speaking for the Freeport Honeywell team and Pretzel Pickers, described two recent volunteer efforts: an Earth Day litter pickup and a May 7 "meal in a bag" event that assembled shelf-stable meals for local food pantries and schools.

Bush said the Earth Day cleanup produced 34 bags of trash and that volunteers found larger items such as a tire and a discarded carpet. She said the Honeywell team engaged employees and family members in the effort to keep public areas and roadways clean. "We had multi generations out working and teaching others the importance of keeping our city clean," Bush said.

On May 7 the group assembled and distributed shelf-stable meal kits — complete with recipe instructions — to Joseph's Pantry, Amity, Church of the Brethren, Mount Calvary and New Jerusalem pantries and to District 145 schools. Bush gave the count of distributed bags as fluctuating between 200 and 300 during her remarks and described the kits as including cereal with shelf-stable milk, macaroni-and-cheese cups and other nonperishables; she also described a "birthday cake in a bag" project that included cake mix, frosting and candles.

The group thanked the city for help disposing of collected trash and the YMCA for allowing space to assemble meals. "We're happy to do that, too," Bush said, and the council applauded the volunteers.

What was not decided: the presentation was informational; no council action was taken. Staff acknowledged the city’s role in trash disposal and expressed support for continued partnership.

Next steps: organizers said they hope to continue similar partnerships and to involve more families and children in future cleanup and food-packaging events.