Neighbors Helping Neighbors Walk benefits Loaves and Fishes

Barbara Burkhardt knows there's little that separates those who volunteer at and donate to Loaves and Fishes Community Services from those who need the organization's assistance.

Often it's a stroke of misfortune - a company downsizes, a family member faces a tough diagnosis - that leaves a suburban family struggling financially. In those times, Loaves and Fishes stands ready to help.

The Naperville organization may be best known for its pantry where clients can "shop" for the foods they prefer and that fit their families' dietary needs. But Loaves and Fishes offers services that go well beyond easing the hunger of those struggling to get by. Through partnerships with a host of community assistance organizations, Loaves and Fishes clients can connect to public benefit agencies as well as English language classes, computer courses, health and financial management programs, veterans assistance, and emotional support.

But the thing that strikes Burkhardt about Loaves and Fishes is not its mission - which she wholly supports - but its clientele. Loaves and Fishes serves residents of the city of Naperville and Naperville Township, and DuPage County residents are eligible for the Community Food and Nutrition Program as well.

The clients could be Burkhardt's neighbors, her co-workers or those she works with as a hospital chaplain. It's those people - and the play of fortune or misfortune in their lives - that Burkhardt will be thinking about as she takes part Saturday, May 30, in the first Neighbors Helping Neighbors Walk organized by her church, St. Margaret Mary Parish, to benefit Loaves and Fishes.

Today, Burkhardt explains why she believes it's important to walk to help neighbors in need.

Barbara Burkhardt

I have lived in Naperville for 20 years and an active member of the St. Margaret Mary community. It came to our attention that there was a desire in the parish to have a communitywide event to make a difference in our larger community. Loaves and Fishes is a much-needed and necessary service in our community, and we as a parish already support our local food pantry. We are pleased to have a public event to support the organization and also to make Loaves and Fishes a focus of our efforts to help our neighbors.

Many people in Naperville and Lisle might not be aware of the needs in our community for food assistance. Because DuPage County has a relatively high median income and high levels of education, we can feel like our community doesn't have the kinds of needs that we think of when we consider those who are using the services of an organization like Loaves and Fishes.

Even so, we have a significant population of people who are food insecure. In DuPage County, more than 16 percent of the children living in DuPage County are food insecure, and one in 12 DuPage seniors receives food assistance. More than 65 percent of households receiving assistance in DuPage include a member with post-high school education, and more than 70 percent of them are either currently employed or have been in the past year, according to the DuPage Hunger Study 2014, prepared for Northern Illinois Food Bank.

Those of us who are able have a responsibility to reach out to our brothers and sisters who are struggling. I work as a hospital chaplain, and have spent time with individuals who have shared their stories with me about the challenges they face. Many times I have been struck by the fact that if my own circumstances were to change, I could find myself in their shoes. We live in a community with extraordinary privilege, and yet within our community, many of us are coping with difficulties beyond what we are able to handle alone. As a member of the greater community, this is an opportunity to make a difference in a small but meaningful way.

Our walk is not long - it is just under three miles, and there is an option for a shorter route, cutting back early so the walk is about a mile. We are hopeful we will have people walking with us from all around the Naperville/Lisle community. To register online, go to our website, smmp.com, or call the parish office, (630) 369-0777.