Local Fundraiser Provides Weeks of Food for DuPage County Neighbors in Need

Belmont Village Geneva Road celebrated its 15th anniversary serving seniors in the Carol Stream area with the Fill-A-Pot fundraiser benefiting Neighborhood Food Pantry, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing food security to neighbors in need. The event raised $2,500 dollars and will provide approximately six weeks of food for families at risk of hunger. Belmont Village residents and staff presented the check to the local food pantry in mid-July.

"Here, at the Neighborhood Food Pantry, we operate on a shoe-string budget from month-to-month," said Patrick Coady, co-coordinator for the Neighborhood Food Pantry in the Lutheran Church of the Master in Carol Stream. "We feed 400 plus families a month, and the charitable contributions from our community are crucial to our ability to continue. The money Belmont Village raised fills our pantry shelves with food for weeks. We are humbled by the generosity and we couldn't be more thankful."

"We always look for ways to be a good neighbor and support a local, grassroots organization," said Jeanne Hansen, executive director at Belmont Village Geneva Road. "We teamed up with Neighborhood Food Pantry because they make a direct impact on struggling families in DuPage County. This partnership has been rewarding for our residents, staff and family members and we hope that other business will follow our lead."

According to the Northern Illinois Food Bank approximately 87,200 (9.6%) of DuPage County residents are at risk of hunger with nearly 50,576 ineligible for public benefits. More than 37,000 (16.4%) of children in the county are at risk of hunger and for many, their main meal of the day is provided at school through the free and reduced price lunch program.

"It was a humbling experience to learn about how the money helps families in Carol Stream, and to see how dedicated the volunteers are in distributing the food," said Carol Vocak, resident at Belmont Village Geneva Road. "You know there are hungry people, but seeing it first hand was eye opening."

The Fill-A-Pot event is the second fundraiser Belmont Village has held to benefit the local food pantry. Back in November, Belmont Village's Ladies Night Out fundraiser raised enough money for the Neighborhood Food Pantry to purchase a large refrigerator for food storage.

"Belmont Village saw the need in our own community and really stepped up to the plate last fall by funding a huge, double-door display refrigerator," said Carol Platt, co-coordinator for the Neighborhood Food Pantry in the Lutheran Church of the Master in Carol Stream. "The refrigerator allows us to be able to give our guests at the pantry fresh produce and fresh dairy products."