Itasca Food Pantry use up since COVID-19, organizers preparing for more
The number of families relying on the Itasca Food Pantry has increased by 50% since the COVID-19 outbreak began, and organizers are preparing for more after July 25, when increased unemployment benefits from the CARES Act come to an end.
The food pantry, which had served 30 to 35 families a week, now is seeing up to 50 families a week, and the figure is expected to rise.
Food pantry board President Jeanne Otero said the community has stepped up with donations and volunteers to pack and deliver food directly to the car trunks of clients who drive up to the center, a change made to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Food distributions are from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturdays.
"We are still servicing our clients outside on Saturday mornings," Otero said. "Hot, cold, rain, snow - maybe we are really the post office!"
Volunteers pack at least 100 bags of dry goods such as soup, macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables, crackers and cookies every Thursday night. Meat, produce and dairy items also are available.
Clients no longer are allowed to enter the building, and they no longer can choose food items for their families. Recipients, most of them in cars, come to the parking lot where volunteers wearing masks and gloves deliver the bags of preselected food.
The food pantry partners with the Northern Illinois Food Bank, and local grocery stores such as Walmart have been pitching in to make sure the pantry gets food and supplies, Otero said.
Feeding America, a nonprofit based in Chicago that organizes over 200 food banks across the country, expects to see food insecurity rise in DuPage County from 5.9% to 10.6% as a result of the pandemic.
Comparing March 1 through June 30, Otero says that the pantry's food order has increased from 25,700 pounds in 2019 to 66,261 pounds in 2020, a 257% increase. Expenses have also increased by 252% through the cost of food, protective gear and such as masks, gloves and face masks, bags and boxes for the prepackaged food, and a new three-door commercial refrigerator to hold the food in.
More than 18 million Americans receiving unemployment could see their weekly benefits cut by $600 after next week unless the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is extended.
Otero has been seeing more donations come in during the pandemic. The pantry has resumed accepting food donations after suspending them earlier in the outbreak, but monetary donations are preferred. A fundraiser April 25 brought in $800 to the pantry, but the pandemic has also made in-person fundraising more difficult.
"It's a vicious circle with the virus," volunteer Larry Test said. "With the current environment, it does slow us down. It takes extra work and time to prepare everything now."
A core group of 13 to 14 volunteers keeps the food bank running. As a longtime volunteer, Test helps pick up the supplies and food donated by the pantry's partners and grocery stores throughout the village to distribute it to those who need it. A Facebook post by the food pantry highlighted his work.
"We have a share of frequent flyers and people who are new to the operation," Otero said. "Itasca has a lot of pride in their neighborhood."
• Trey Arline is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms.