West Suburban Community Pantry to host 'State of Pantry' to share updates with community
On Wednesday, Sept. 20, West Suburban Community Pantry leadership will shares the strategic vision in a Q&A session and tours of pantry facilities.
It will be 6 to 8 p.m. at West Suburban Community Pantry, 6809 Hobson Valley Dr, #118 in Woodridge, IL 60517.
What's New- Expanded Support Services
WSCP Support Services team connects with local families and individuals, offering one-on-one counseling with our onsite staff, free educational programming, and care management to create opportunities for people to improve their quality of life.
Support Services provides connections to more than 80 community partners and helps individuals find employment and apply for public programs, like SNAP and utility bill assistance.
This year, they added brief crisis intervention personal counseling, and helped unlock $210,000 in SNAP dollars.
They also offered 34 free educational classes; and hosted 19 on-site resource tables during shopping hours.
Overall, support services offered 2.043 people an easier path to success.
The Challenge
In the past year, West Suburban Community Pantry has served 59,108 adults, 38,460 children, 11,422 seniors, and 1,449 of unknown age, for a total served of 110,439.
The state of hunger in our country has increased in the past year. As federal benefits have been scaled back or expired more people are seeking food from food pantries.
At that same time, food costs have also increased on the items that are the healthiest for our community. Protein and produce are still high in cost.
The need continues to grow among those newly immigrated to our community. The Pantry staff have been intentional about meeting the needs of migrant families - offering culturally appropriate foods and finding new ways to break down language barriers by using the Instant Language Assistant to communicate. The Pantry serves people who speak over 17 languages.
Those experiencing food insecurity have increased anxiety (A recent CDC study on food insecurity in America found that food insecurity is associated with a 257% higher risk of anxiety). We have a full-time onsite mental health care professional who focuses on crisis stabilization and works with area partners to offer other mental health care services as needed.
Customer Gerard had been meeting with Kristin Jachymiak, director of support services, for personal counseling. He was experiencing frequent anxiety and was also feeling depressed. After working his entire life, a recent layoff at his company had left him unemployed for over a year. He wasn't feeling well and had a hard time identifying how to move forward. He felt stuck. "When I first met with Kristin, I was tired a lot and didn't feel at my best. She helped connect me with free medical care and they discovered I had a serious heart issue. That saved my life! I'm doing the right things to take care of myself now. And I finally have some good job prospects."
West Suburban Community Pantry increases access to nutritious foods through an in-person Woodridge-based market, online ordering, senior home delivery, and child nutrition programs in local school districts. WSCP also offers support services, connecting individuals and families to community and government assistance, as well as providing wellness workshops and counseling with a focus on crisis stabilization. Every day, WSCP is moving closer to a vision of a community without hunger thanks to the generous support of the community and dedicated volunteers. Visit www.wscpantry.org and Facebook and Instagram to learn more.