Glen Ellyn Food Pantry of Ellyn, Illinois

The Glen Ellyn Food Pantry is an ecumenical endeavor of Glen Ellyn churches who cooperate in providing food and volunteers to serve people in need who reside in Glen Ellyn, Wheaton, Lombard, Carol Stream, Lisle, and Glendale Heights. The Glen Ellyn Food Pantry began in the spring of 1979 when the high school youth group of Grace Lutheran Church collected food for people in need, and it continued to grow from there. Today the Pantry operates independently of the church but is housed in its building. The Glen Ellyn Food Pantry was incorporated in 1985 and is currently supported by 16 Sponsoring Glen Ellyn churches. Each of the Sponsoring Churches is represented on the pantry board by one of its members. Each board member works in the pantry, is responsible for coordinating additional volunteers and arranging food drives through their church. The number of families served by the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry has increased dramatically over the past two years. Currently, the Pantry serves about 300 families every month (around 1200 individuals). Clients seek the Pantry’s assistance when they need help providing nourishing food for their families. Some have faced the loss of a job and need a little help until they are employed again, or they may be under employed and the assistance enables them to make ends meet. Sometimes a family incurs large medical expenses or experiences a divorce or death. Senior citizens who are of fixed incomes, people struck by illness, and the disabled are given assistance. Clients are seen by appointment and are only allowed one visit per month and six visits per year. The Glen Ellyn Food Pantry is run by four part-time staff members and hundreds of volunteers. When not serving clients, They sort and inspect donated food and stock the shelves. Volunteers shop for fresh meat, vegetables, fruit, eggs, and personal hygiene items. The Glen Ellyn Food Pantry’s annual Thanksgiving event helps clients put a warn holiday meal of the table for their families. The meals are sponsored by donations from the community and includes a turkey, potatoes, and other non-perishable Thanksgiving necessities. Last year, after two days of handing out food, pantry volunteer supplies about 550 local families, nearly 100 more than the previous year.