Students can help the hungry by donating canned goods in a holiday food drive at participating White Hen Pantry stores until Dec. 16.

The owners of the Chicagoland network of White Hen Pantry stores are co-sponsoring the food drive with WMAQ-AM Radio, Elite Truck Rental, and Chicago’s “Sharing It” anti-hunger program.

The food donated at each White Hen Pantry will be collected by Elite trucks and delivered to the Greater Chicagoland Food Depository on Dec. 22. The depository will distribute the food to a network of about 500 hunger-fighting agencies in Chicago and the suburbs, including Northwestern Indiana and Western Illinois.

Christiane Tiskus, communications coordinator for White Hen Pantry, said WMAQ-AM Radio is donating air time to publicize the food drive.

“The food that is donated will go to serve the people of the areas in which the stores are located. The cans will be earmarked for distribution to the needy of that community,” Tiskus said.

Steve Whitehead, executive director of the depository, said “It (the food) will be distributed to agencies that serve as a pantry, soup kitchen or shelter.”

The depository has raised more than 100 million pounds of food for hunger victims in Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, Winnebago, Kendall, Will, DeKalb, LaSalle, Kankakee and McHenry counties.

Kathy Zuniga, owner of a DeKalb White Hen Pantry, 901 Lucinda Ave., said her store will be participating in the food drive.