Closes Pantry Store Until June 23 or Further Notice
Woodridge, IL—West Suburban community Pantry has announced that the Pantry Store in Woodridge is forced to close its doors temporarily as of June 15th. as it deals with electrical issues affecting their air conditioning and refrigeration systems. The Pantry will offer a modified distribution of prepacked perishable foods including fresh produce, frozen meat, and bread on Thursday, June 15 from 830am – 730pm). We will be closed from Saturday, June 18 – Wednesday, June 22. The Pantry plans to open to shoppers again on Thursday, June 23 from 8:30 am-7:30 pm. . Executive Director Laura Coyle made the announcement in order to ensure the safety and well-being of customers, volunteers and staff.
“Due to the extraordinary high temperatures this week, we have experienced the failure of both the air conditioning in our Pantry building and the loss of our commercial refrigerators and freezers. Our first priority is to ensure food is safely stored and handled, and under the current conditions that is impossible,” Coyle said. “We also need to ensure that our customers, volunteers and staff are safe and comfortable in our space. Unfortunately, this comes at a time when demand is high, and the cost of food is rising daily. But we could not, in good conscience, have people spend precious gas to come to the Pantry when we cannot offer the items they need most. Not being able to provide costly milk and eggs right now is a tragedy for us-the timing could not be worse. ”
The Pantry is reaching out to other food banks in the area to refer customers to during this time, while they have the equipment diagnosed, repaired, or replaced. “We are looking at an estimated $30,000 in unanticipated expense in addition to the loss of food we have suffered this week. We are working with urgency to get back online to serve our customers safely and conveniently as soon as possible, “ Coyle affirms. “In the long term, we want to ensure that our equipment is sound and reliable. We are attempting to source equipment with our corporate and professional partners to ensure we don’t suffer these outages again. The best thing people can do to help is to make monetary donations to help us restock when we are able.”
The Pantry hopes to be back open by June 23 or as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Pantry’s Virtual Food Pantry continues to offer the option to order groceries online and pick them up at a number of locations in the area. For information on the Virtual Food Pantry visit www.virtualfoodpantry.net. For updated information on Pantry Store re-opening and hours visit www.wscpantry.com .
