Community Bands Together to Support Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry

nat rosasco • November 18, 2015

With Thanksgiving right around the corner and thoughts of giving and altruism in the air, we would like to share about the Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry. The EYFP provides for their community year-round, and now, their community has banded together to provide for them.

The EYFP began in 1983 as part of the Yorkfield Presbyterian Church, functioning literally out of a closet. In 1998, the EYFP departed from the closet and moved to the basement of a cottage on the church’s campus. The food pantry became an independent 501c3 community organization in 2012. Currently, they’re open four days per week and are run by volunteer staff. The pantry distributes 250,000 pounds of food per year to those in need in Elmhurst, as well as the surrounding towns of Lombard, Berkeley, Hillside, Bensenville, Addison, Villa Park, and Oak Brook. Of the nearly 400 families and individuals per month who use their services, some are temporary, though others live in chronic poverty or are elderly attempting to live off of modest fixed income.

The pantry uses the “client choice” model, which allows families and individuals to pick what food they receive. Designed like a small grocery store, the EYFP allow clients to enter and choose options from frozen meats, dairy products, produce, non-perishables, and breads. This model accommodates both taste preferences and cultural requirements when it comes to food.

Although the EYFP was much more functional in the cottage than when it was headquartered in the closet, they still faced many issues. The small, 700 square foot pantry was gaining greater access to food than in the past, but they had no storage to support this increase. There was also no waiting room for clients, so they were forced to wait outside, which didn’t provide any privacy or dignity, especially in inclement weather. Furthermore, the pantry wasn’t ADA accessible and, being in the basement of a house, the space was hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Combined with the growing needs of families in the area, the EYFP Board knew it was time for an expansion.

Three and a half years ago, the Board approached Jim Ruprecht, one of Reclaimed Table’s partners and our design director, about designing a garage for the then-existing food pantry. After discussing the pantry’s needs, including the growing volume of people they could potentially be serving, they collectively realized that the pantry would need more than a garage to better benefit their clients. Jim explained, “Our three goals were to provide client dignity, be highly efficient, and be a good neighbor to the community around us.” Over the next two years, after developing a business plan, performing needs analysis, and visiting other food pantries to see how they managed their operations, Jim and the Board came up with designs for a new food pantry at the existing site.

The upgraded facility unfortunately comes with a steep price tag of $875,000 to cover construction costs and immediate supply needs. However, the surrounding community took charge, and so far, over $800,000 in cash has been raised. This money was donated thanks to charity walks and generous local businesses and organizations, including John Sakash and Company , 100+ Women Who Care—Elmhurst Area , and The Snuggery. Money was also raised through challenge matching grants from Thing 123 Foundation and the Elmhurst Presbyterian Church, as well as other fundraisers managed by students at Fenwick High School. Many “gifts in kind” were also received from individual donors and community organizations. These included a full set of windows, valued at around $10,000, as well as doors, landscaping, tile, and plumbing. Reclaimed Table is proud to have been able to donate walnut wall paneling for the waiting room and butcher block table tops and counters for the client check-in and checkout areas.

Besides money and materials donations, people are also donating their time. Jim, who has taken on the role of lead architect for this project, is doing all of his work pro-bono through Daedalus Development , a Chicago-based architecture and design firm. Daedalus also donated all of the engineering and permit fees required for the project.

There are 100,000 people in DuPage County who are food insecure. Jim noted, “The number of client families visiting grew from 80 to almost 400 in the last 3½ years and shows no sign of slowing down.” With that in mind, we honor the inspiring work the people and businesses of Elmhurst and the surrounding communities have accomplished in order to finally have a space that will be able to benefit all those in need.

To learn more about the EYFP, including how you can donate or get involved, please visit the website here.

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