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Kendall County Food Pantry gets federal help for building improvements · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Kendall County Food Pantry gets federal help for building improvements.
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  Written by Joey Weslow, this article is being read by
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  an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. To address
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  rising needs of food insecurity in the fastest growing county
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  in Illinois, US Rep. Lauren Underwood D Naperville presented the
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  Kendall County Food Pantry in Yorkville seven hundred and sixty
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  three thousand, five hundred dollars in federal money secured through
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  the Congressional Community Project Funding Initiative. Underwood handed an oversized
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  check to pantry staff and project sponsors on July first,
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  while touring the pantry to see infrastructural improvements and to
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  meet with volunteers and shopping community members. The grant will
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  help rehabilitate the facility by making flooring improvements and handicap
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  accessible entries, increasing accessibility for those with mobility issues, and
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  increasing energy efficiency through improvements to electrical wiring and updating
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  lighting fixtures. The updates are tailored to enable the pantry
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  to serve more families than need. The Congressional Community Project
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  Funding secured twelve thousand, six hundred and sixty two thousand,
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  five hundred and thirty six sets in twenty twenty four
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  Appropriations Bills grant funding for the fourteenth District to support
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  fifteen community service projects dedicated to supporting causes like critical infrastructure,
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  address hunger, insecurity, and improve services for survivors of domestic violence.
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  We really committed to working on this project with you
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  because as the level of needs expands in our communities,
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  our essential pantries need to be able to accommodate set
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  underwood to the gathered pantry supporters, you don't want any
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  kind of barrier preventing you from serving people. The Kendall
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  County Food Pantry, located at two oh eight Beaver Saint Yorkville,
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  distributes food every Thursday, with in person shopping and drive
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  through grocery services. The pantry's clothing closet is open on
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  Mondays and Thursdays. The pantry also distributes pet food every
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  other Thursday. According to the pantry's executive director, Alex Heard,
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  the pantry was serving one hundred and eighty families each
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  week two years ago and has now increased to four
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  hundred and fifty families weekly. The pantry estimates they serve
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  about fourteen hundred community members each week. In an interview,
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  Underwood said the initiative served as a testament to the
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  previous work her staff has done with the Northern Illinois
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  Food Bank in Geneva and their dedication to helping increase
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  the capacity of people served at affiliated food pantries. It
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  can be very difficult for these type of organizations to
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  get money for structural improvements. Underwood said, we were really
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  excited to be able to submit this project as one
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  of my priorities and to secure funding which will make
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  a huge difference. She praised the dedication of the community
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  volunteers and explained why their work is so important. We
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  know that Kettle County is the fastest growing in the state,
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  so it's no surprise to here that the pantry's number
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  of families served as increasing as the community grows, Underwood said,
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  we want to help them to be able to accommodate
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  that need. As a previous client of the pantry, Dulce
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  Vargas knew when the opportunity arose to work for the
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  pantry it was the perfect way to provide for the
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  community that was there when she was once in need.
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  My husband and I were both working at Caterpillar when
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  our second child was born premature with health issues preventing
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  me from returning to work. Vargas said, you don't ever
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  know when you're going to be in that situation where
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  you're going to need help. It's very important for us
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  to look out for each other. When I came here
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  as a client, I was overwhelmed with the generosity. Vargas
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  started as a volunteer twelve years ago and has been
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  serving as the assistant director for the past six months.
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  Her bilingual abilities provide the pantry the much needed ability
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  to offer services to the immigrant community. She said. A
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  chief responsibility was dispelling the misconception amongst the immigrant community
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  that accepting services would impact their ability to apply for
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  god government assistance or residency. Vargas said, once she explained
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  that was not true, immigrant family participation increased. Vargas said
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  what encouraged her to come back as a volunteer was
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  the community the pantry provides. She said her kids grew
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  up there, and you often see grandchildren come and help
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  their volunteering grandparents. This place is like a family. We
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  all care about each other. Vargas said, I know what
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  it felt like to walk in the doors and how
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  embarrassed and ashamed you can feel. That's why we all
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  try so hard to make people feel welcome. You never
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  know what people are going through. We want them to
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  know they are always welcome and know it's all right.
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  Executive director Heard said, one of his primary objectives is
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  reducing the stigma facing people who require assistance. When people
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  walk through the door, we want them to see someone
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  smiling and to provide a normalized shopping experience so people
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  feel as though they're shopping at jewel. Herd said, by
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  reducing that stigma, we can shift focus away from why
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  and focus on ways to help. We want to say
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  that when you are in here, we got you. You
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  are a part of our community and you're always going
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  to have enough food to get your family though at all.
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  Herd express gratitude for every community member donating ten dollars
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  or one hundred dollars monthly, and to every church group
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  spreading word for more volunteers and other food pantries contributing donations.
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  The group's website and Facebook page provide outreach about volunteering
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  opportunities and fundraising events. The pantry has a twenty four
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  hour donation door where people drop off can goods and clothing.
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  They also do Facebook drives when they are low on
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  specific items. Direct donations help the pantry by weekly groceries
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  and items directly from the Northern Illinois Food Bank, which
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  provides free produce, and rescue stores that provide meat and
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  protein produce. All other funding for food and item purchases
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  and facility and equipment upgrades come from grants like the
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  one the pantry applied for through Underwood's office. Herd expressed
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  pride in the pantry's children orientated welcome room with a
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  designated play area, blackboard and donated books for kids to
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  read and take home. Heard said. The magic of the
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  pantry is all in the volunteers. This place is nothing
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  without our volunteers, said Herd. The majority are from the
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  community and show up sometimes three to four days a week.
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  With our elderly volunteers, it's incredible. This is what they're
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  choosing to do in their retirement. You can see the
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  fulfillment it provides them. Heard said, from providing healthy meals
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  to clothes so children can feel pride stepping into school,
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  it's all about providing community. The importance of taking agency
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  within your community is realizing that the majority of us
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  are one check away. Heard said, when the community can
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  rely on each other, it builds trust and opportunities. It
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  allows you to feel as though you're part of something
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  bigger than yourself. People that come in here are being
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  lifted up, not being kept down. Rose Batten has lived
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  in Yorkville for six decades, seeing firsthand the necessity to
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  combat food and security in the area. She has served
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  as a volunteer at the pantry for nine years. It's
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  important to me because I grew up very poor and
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  know what it's like to go without food. Batan said,
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  this means a lot to me to give back to
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  the community. I know what it's like to be hungry,
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  so I really feel for people who need our help.
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  Bought and helps sort items when they come into the
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  pantry and make sure all groceries get labeled and put
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  on correct shelves On Thursdays. She also helps with distribution
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  when someone come in and needs food. It fills my
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  heart to be able to walk around the pantry and
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  help fill their cart. Bait And said, I wish everybody
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  could volunteer because we're all in this together. It's like
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  we are all one big family. We all care about
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  each other. It makes for bigger hearts.