Woodridge Illinois—West Suburban Community Pantry has received a $25,000 grant from DuPage Foundation to support Access to Food for Health. As part of its Community Needs Grant Program, DuPage Foundation granted $678,380 to 37 not-for-profit organizations providing essential health and human services to residents across DuPage County.
West Suburban Community Pantry’s mission is to offer food for the hungry and resources to empower people to improve their quality of life. Serving over 5600 individuals every month, the Pantry hosts an onsite Pantry Store in Woodridge, a Virtual Food Pantry, Remote Food Pick Up sites and services to area schools including school pick up, an in-school pantry, weekend food backpacks and healthy snacks for children exhibiting chronic hunger in over 35 area schools. The Pantry accepts donations of cash as well as non-perishable food staples including baby formula, diapers and baby wipes at the Pantry in Woodridge.
“This grant will extend the reach of our Food for Health program by helping us purchase a refrigerated truck for delivery to our remote locations and pick-ups for our food rescue program,” says Development director Lisa Spaeth. “We are grateful to the DuPage Foundation for recognizing our ambitions to expand access to fresh nutritious foods to neighbors in need throughout DuPage County, Woodridge, Bolingbrook and Will County. We are equally pleased to be able to expand the region in which we can retrieve food donations from our generous food rescue partners.”
Additional donations from DuPage Foundation’s donors and donor-advisors increased the spring 2022 Community Needs grant budget by 26 percent.
“Our not-for-profit partners have seen increased demand for their services for more than two years, and are still facing situations exacerbated by the pandemic,” said Barb Szczepaniak, DuPage Foundation vice president for programs. “We are grateful to the donors and donor-advisors who make it possible for the Foundation to go the extra mile when it comes to Community Needs. Thanks to their generosity, we can award more grants and increase our reach throughout the community.”
About DuPage Foundation
DuPage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) community foundation, is the philanthropic leader in DuPage County, Illinois. DuPage Foundation manages more than $130 million in assets and has awarded more than $65 million in grants to not-for-profit organizations serving the residents of DuPage County since its founding in 1986. Individuals and organizations seeking to provide impactful support to address critical issues in DuPage County and beyond can create powerful customizable gift solutions and partnerships through DuPage Foundation. More at dupagefoundation.org. Doing a world of good in our own backyard.®
For further information regarding West Suburban Community Pantry, please visit wscpantry.org. For information on the Virtual Food Pantry, visit www.virtualfoodpantry.net.
