During National Library Week, the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library is looking to help lift up its neighbors.

Next week, the library will host a donation drive for the Share Food, Share Love food pantry in Brookfield. From Saturday, April 7 to Sunday, April 13, library guests are encouraged to stop by to drop off food, hygiene products and household items.

Anyone who donates to the library’s drive will be entered into a raffle for an Enjoy Brookfield gift card, which can be redeemed at any business in the village. Each item donated at the drive will grant one raffle entry.

According to Share Food, Share Love, its visitors’ most requested food items include flour, sugar and cake mix alongside coffee and tea. Other highly requested items include paper products like toilet paper and tissues and goods like aluminum foil and plastic wrap. For a full list of items the pantry is requesting, visit its website.

Last month, Share Food, Share Love moved to a grocery store-style layout from its previous tabletop format in a step to help eliminate the stigma of getting assistance from a food pantry.

Stella Brown is a 2023 graduate from Northwestern University, where she was the editor-in-chief of campus magazine North by Northwestern. Stella previously interned at The Texas Tribune, where she covered...