Naperville responds for the hungry

The Downtown Naperville Alliance and Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry extend a heartfelt thanks to all who shopped and dined in downtown Naperville during the month of January and while there donated food items and funds to benefit Loaves & Fishes.

The "Give Back and Get Back" promotion encouraged visitors to donate five food items or $5 to Loaves & Fishes in exchange for a reusable Downtown Naperville shopping bag as a reward, along with special offers available in January. More than 1,000 pounds of food and several hundred dollars were realized from this effort. During a time of great need, the outpouring of support in food donations exceeded our expectations and helped restock the shelves at Loaves & Fishes throughout January when contributions are typically low. The downtown merchants were delighted to offer their assistance by providing highly visible food drop-off locations at Roseland Draperies & Interiors, Barnes & Noble, the Gap, the Canterbury Shoppe, the Naperville Park District and Creating Your Style & Kasie's Beads. The whole truly is greater than the sum of its parts. Together we were able to support downtown businesses while gathering food items to support those in greatest need in our community. Job well done, Naperville. Thank you for acknowledging that the importance of supporting our downtown businesses, as well as the business of ending hunger in our community, are seasonless endeavors worthy of our community's best efforts year round.

Charles McLimans

executive director, Loaves & Fishes

Katie Wood

executive director, Downtown Naperville Alliance