Sale of farm impacts pantry's collection efforts

Sometimes, blessings disappear just as fast as they materialize.

The departure, though, usually is more noticeable, which was the case this year at Naperville's Loaves and Fishes Community Food Pantry.

In the blink of an eye, the pantry lost 10,000 pounds of fresh, nutritious produce for its clients through the summer and early fall months. With the sale of Mayneland Farms to developer Kimball Hill Homes, the pantry's fresh produce source dried up.

And with it, went most hopes for the Giving Garden program to meet its 75,000-pound collection goal for this year.

This summer's total collection of 61,604 pounds is just shy of 10,000 pounds less than the amount gathered by gardeners across five counties in 2005.

Some pantries collected more this year. A number collected less. But the total shortfall nearly mirrors the donation drop at Loaves and Fishes.

In 2005, the Naperville pantry collected 14,844 pounds of produce. This year the tally was 4,895, the lowest collection at that site in pounds since 2000.