HCS Family Services to open food pantry in Willowbrook elementary school
Southeast DuPage County families struggling to put food on the table for their children will soon have access to a food pantry started specifically to meet their needs. The Burr Ridge School District 180 Board of Education approved a request from HCS Family Services to house a food pantry at Anne M. Jeans Elementary School in Willowbrook, Ill., at its Aug. 8 meeting.
While located at Anne M. Jeans Elementary School, the pantry will be open to low-income families with children ages 18 and under who attend a school in Hinsdale Township High School District 86 or one of its 23 feeder elementary or middle schools.
"One in five children in our community are facing hunger," said Deb Baker, Executive Director, HCS Family Services. "Opening a food pantry in the school, which is a trusted place, will help us reach more families in need."
HCS Family Services is partnering with Northern Illinois Food Bank, which will provide start-up support for the pantry. It is the second school-based pantry Northern Illinois Food Bank has started in DuPage County. The first, We Go Together For Kids, located in the West Chicago School District, was launched in 2014.
Children are a particularly vulnerable population, as hunger has been shown to affect children's physical, mental and emotional growth. Children who are hungry are reported to do more poorly in school, get sick more often, have trouble concentrating on studies and are absent more frequently.
The pantry will be located in the highest need area in HCS Family Services' region. The organization has hosted a monthly mobile pantry in Willowbrook since 2010. The school-based pantry will provide a more consistent access to a variety of foods for the 1,600 Willowbrook families that relied on the pantry in fiscal year 2016, as well as new families in need.
"No matter all the great planning, resources and energies we spend on providing our children with a quality education, if a child is hungry, that student is not going to learn," said Thomas Schneider, E.D., Superintendent, Burr Ridge School District 180. "Having a pantry at the school speaks to our district commitment of providing our students the best opportunity to learn and thrive."
More than 85,000 people in DuPage County are facing hunger. Northern Illinois Food Bank data indicates that southeast DuPage County residents are skipping as many as 500,000 meals per year, simply because they do not have enough food for three meals per day. HCS Family Services officials estimate the school-based pantry will serve 100 families weekly and provide more than 85,000 meals annually.
The pantry at Anne M. Jeans Elementary School is slated to be open in mid-September. Southeast DuPage County families with children may visit the pantry weekly.
HCS Family Services also operates a pantry at the Memorial Building in Hinsdale.
For more information about HCS Family Services and updates on the pantry opening, visit www.HCSFamilyServices.org or follow HCS Family Services on Facebook.