Women-only free food distribution set for May 19 in Aurora
Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry will distribute food and household products to women only on Thursday, May 19, from 2 to 3 p.m. at Vineyard Aurora Church, 505 E. Galena Blvd. in Aurora. Admission and parking are free. Identification and registration are not required.
Food items, diapers, formula, baby food and feminine hygiene products are among items to be distributed.
A drive-through pop-up pantry open to all is scheduled for Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to noon at Restoration Church, 1460 W. Indian Trail Road in Aurora.
Women's Empowerment Mobile Pantries are planned for the third Thursdays this year. Interfaith added the women's-only pantry to its popular mobile pantries, launched in January 2021, with a grant from Aurora Women's Empowerment Foundation. AWE, an Aurora -based nonprofit, was formed in 2018 after the Aurora YWCA closed after nearly 125 years.
AWE chair Amy Bauduin said, "Our mission is to elevate and empower Aurora-area women and future women by making grants to tax-exempt nonprofits engaged in meaningful, measurable work that helps women over the hurdles of inequity and exclusion, propelling them forward with life-changing programs and services."
With pantry staffers and volunteers, a truck and driver loaned by Calvary Church of Naperville visits area locations to distribute Interfaith food, household items and women's hygiene products. Interfaith mobile pantries visit parking lots at churches, schools, libraries and senior and low-income residences.
Mobile-pantry partners with Interfaith are Fox Valley Park District, Calvary Church of Naperville and Blessings in a Backpack of Chicago.
Interfaith mobile pantries deliver food for 200 families on a first-come basis. Items distributed include granola bars, fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, pasta sauce, eggs, ground beef, cereal, applesauce, apple juice and box dinners. Additionally, when available, laundry detergent, toilet paper, hand soap, kids' band aids, hand sanitizer and school supplies are distributed. Patrons do not need to leave their vehicles to claim food. Pantry volunteers observe pandemic safety procedures when loading bags of groceries and household items valued at $100 into patrons' vehicles. Call (630) 692-3061, email rdunnigan@aurorafoodpantry.org or visit aurorafoodpantry.org for more information.