'Things are flying off the shelves': Salvation Army home goods pantry in Elgin sees rising need for essentials

As a single mother with three daughters, Nohemi Perez of Elgin found it impossible to make ends meet as prices on necessities from food to gas to rent kept rising.

"I only have one income, and it's so hard with the inflation," she said.

There are numerous places to turn to in Elgin to help with food insecurity. But other essentials, including personal hygiene products, cleaning supplies, paper goods and diapers, often are the first things people sacrifice when making tough financial choices.

About six months ago, Perez learned about the Salvation Army's home goods pantry. She is thankful she did because, without it, she wouldn't be able to afford personal care items for her girls.

"This place helps me out a lot," she said. "But it also helps give me hope."

Tucked in the back of its Elgin Corps Community Center, the Salvation Army operates one of few dedicated home goods pantries in the area. The pantry provides hygiene and cleaning essentials not covered by assistance programs like SNAP or WIC.

"There's more and more families coming in now because of the rising prices," said Nelly Cruz, an emergency case worker for the Salvation Army Elgin Corps who oversees the home goods pantry. "Things are flying off the shelves."

The Elgin Corps, which also serves the surrounding communities of South Elgin, Carpentersville, Streamwood and East and West Dundee, has operated the pantry since January 2020. It's open from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursdays.

"When you think about urgent needs, people have a tendency to think food, but lots of places in Elgin offer food and do it well," said Salvation Army Resource Development Director Rick Reigner. "Nobody is really thinking about personal hygiene and toilet paper. But they're big needs, and we're seeing those needs go up because the prices on the shelves are going up."

Last year, nearly 1,000 households received items from the home goods pantry. About 375 people received about 800 items from the pantry last month.

"The people we serve can't just add to their budget when prices go up," Reigner said. "They have to make choices and give up something."

Each item in the pantry is assigned a point value. Families are awarded points based on the number of people in the household.

A family of four people, for example, will get 200 points per visit, which could cover one each of toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, dish soap, diapers, baby wipes, deodorant, and feminine hygiene products.

Families used to be able to visit once every 60 days. But with supplies running low, the Salvation Army has had to push it back to 90 days.

"We kept running out of stuff," Cruz said. "We're spending a lot more money, and our funds are depleted."

With the costs going up and spending already surpassing the annual budget, the Elgin Corps has started a corporate sponsorship program. Companies can sponsor the program at three levels, ranging from $250 to $1,000, and receive various recognitions based on the level of sponsorship. Companies can also sponsor home goods drives to collect donations.

"We're trying to make it easy because these are needs that are flying under the radar but are a priority," Reigner said.

Companies interested in sponsorship can contact him at richard.reigner@usc.salvationarmy.org.

They also accept donations of goods or money from individuals.

"We have an older gentleman who buys diapers and brings them to us just because he has coupons," Cruz said.

Cruz says she doesn't care how she gets the shelves filled. She just wants to be able to help those who need help.

"I don't ever want to have to say no," Cruz said.