News

Ending Hunger Through Citizen Service Conference on May 23

Volunteerism and community service are at the heart of the fight against hunger. Loaves & Fishes is honored to be the local host of this informative conference designed and sponsored by the New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) and ConAgra Foods to share effective, practical ways to organize and engage your volunteer workforce to help end hunger in our community.

Area nonprofits, businesses, civic groups, senior citizen groups, religious congregations, civic groups, government agencies, student and youth groups, and concerned individuals are invited to learn how to implement structured high impact volunteer activities to both build organizational capacity and better meet the long-term food needs of the low-income people they serve.

Please RSVP via this EventBrite invitation http://www.eventbrite.com/event/6535645291. Contact Valerie Boucard, NYCCAH Strategic Volunteer Director, at VBoucard@nyccah.org or (212) 825-0028 ext. 210 or Jody Bender, Loaves & Fishes Director of Community Engagement, at jbender@loaves-fishes.org or (630) 355-3663 with questions. Please view event flyer here.

Stamp Out Hunger Letter Carriers Food Drive Kick Off

Naperville Mayor A. George Pradel and Loaves & Fishes CEO Charles McLimans kicked off the Stamp Out Hunger Letter Carrier’s Food Drive during a visit to the Naperville post office on April 26. Carriers paused from filling their route bags to hear praise from both leaders for the carriers’ volunteerism over the last 20 years in collecting food for Loaves &  Fishes.

This national initiative, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, will be held on Saturday, May 11th.

 

National Volunteer Week (April 21-27) Spotlight

Some of our volunteers recently passed 100 hours of service - just since January 1st! Pictured here receiving their 100-hour t-shirts are:

Front (l-r):
Carol Conley, Jen Olivieri, Peg Pinkerton dela-Hoz 
Back (l-r):
Ned Bacon, Terry Termini, Les Atwood, and
Eric Storm.

Thank you for your service to our community!

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Results

The VITA team (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) headed by L&F volunteer Tom Wcisel held their final session at Loaves & Fishes on April 13. At the end of the day, the volunteer tax team had completed 362 returns for the community, yielding $576,000 in Federal refunds and $54,000 in state refunds. That’s an increase in clients of 19% over the previous year! This year, the team offered evening hours on Monday and Wednesday, and took many walk-ins on Saturday mornings. Our thanks to the VITA team members and their commitment to excellence!

Spirit of Volunteerism Award goes to L&F

The DuPage Community Foundation announced the selection of its 2013 Spirit of Volunteerism Awards recipients, which have been graciously funded by BMO Harris Bank and an anonymous donor. This year, DuPage Pads received a $30,000 grant; Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry received a $20,000 grant; and RE:NEW received a $10,000 grant. Established in 2011, the Spirit of Volunteerism Awards were created as a means to say “thank you” to the volunteer and staff leaders of DuPage County not-for-profit organizations for their tireless efforts to help raise the quality of life for our community’s residents during these challenging economic times.

“Receiving the Spirit of Volunteerism Award from The DuPage Community Foundation is a wonderful way to showcase the more than 1,200 volunteers who will give more than 75,000 hours of service to Loaves & Fishes this year,” said Charles McLimans, executive director for Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry. ”We could not fulfill our mission of ending hunger and empowering lives without our volunteers’ support, and we are thrilled to have the support of our community foundation to improve the experiences of our volunteers and ultimately serve more of our neighbors in DuPage County.”

L&F Volunteer Patrice Lia in the news:

from Naperville Sun: Low-fat cook devotes time to Loaves & FishesRead about L&F volunteer Patrice Lia. See below for more information regarding the new KidsCare2 program mentioned in the article.

Coming this Summer: KidsCare2

Are you looking for a fun children’s birthday celebration with a deeper meaning? Consider holding your child’s birthday party at Loaves & Fishes! We will begin offering KidsCare2 parties this summer on Saturday afternoons for kids between the ages of 6 to 12 years old, limit 12 children per party. Parents will supply the party food and necessities, and guests will bring an item for the pantry shelves.

Tours and fun hunger-related activities make KidsCare2 parties special. Loaves and Fishes volunteers will lead the activities, but each parent must ensure there is an adult for each 3 to 4 children. Cost to be determined. For more information, please e-mail info@loaves-fishes.org.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day – May 11

May 11, 2013 was proclaimed Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day in Naperville, IL during the April 16th meeting of Naperville City Council.  Receiving the proclamation are (l-r) Diane Garneski, Naperville Chapter of National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Food Drive Coordinator; Kenneth Kronberg, Naperville Postmaster; Debbie Blake-Moench, NALC Chapter President; Jody Bender, Loaves & Fishes Director of Community Engagement; Ron Wentzell, Three Fires Council of Boy Scouts of America Director of Finance; Graham Johnson, Loaves & Fishes Volunteer; and Councilman Grant Wehrli.
Photo: Kate Houlihan, City of Naperville.

Carts, Client Choice and April Food Day

from Alix Matzke at United Way of Metropolitan Chicago:

“There is nothing quite like seeing this for yourself to understand why this is so important,” said Rick Pesavento, United Way of DuPage/West Cook Fundraising Manager, as we reconvened in the community room after an enlightening tour of Loaves and Fishes Community Pantry in Naperville, Illinois. “This really helps us tell the story to our donors as we collect food all across the region for April Food Day.”

The Client Choice model gives clients a sense of dignity as they shop through the rows of what feels like the typical grocery store. The most nutritious choices are marked with a “Smart Check” label that indicates the item is low in sugar, salt, fat and high in fiber. Clients are given an allotted number of choices in each category based on family size, and they can select the items within each food group that meet their family’s tastes and nutritional needs.
Read article here.

Money Smart Week: April 22-27, 2013

As part of Money Smart Week, Loaves & Fishes will be hosting two programs that are open to the public:

1. Affordable Housing Opportunities in DuPage County on Monday, April 22 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Learn what is available to find the best choice of housing for you. Find the right rental housing, or learn how to achieve the dream of home ownership.

2. Getting More from Social Security on Tuesday, April 23 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Almost everyone is affected by the Social Security program. This event will help you understand the program benefits and verify that you receive all you’ve earned.

View details on Money Smart Week flyer or visit MoneySmartWeek.org or call us at 630-355-3663.

Food Pantries see more people needing long-term help

from Naperville Sun:

At Loaves & Fishes, where 9,268 people received food help in February, discouraging numbers are being offset to some degree by cause for optimism. “We have good news and bad news to share about the demand for services at Loaves & Fishes,” Charles McLimans, the pantry’s executive director and CEO, said in an email. “The good news is that new family enrollment is tracking 12 percent less than the previous fiscal year. The bad news is that visits are up overall to 22,663 so far this fiscal year, an increase of 9 percent. This indicates a tapering off of families needing services for the first time. However, families are staying longer and coming more frequently.”
Read entire article.

Charles McLimans discusses Loaves & Fishes

This interview aired on Relevant Radio, a national Catholic radio station. Listen to Executive Director/CEO Charles McLimans as he discusses his work at Loaves & Fishes and the ways we help the community.

Read our Loaves & Fishes Winter 2013 Newsletter

L&F on NCTV17′s Spotlight on Naperville

Visit NCTV17′s website here.

Hunger in Plain Sight

from The New York Times:

There are hungry people out there, actually; they’re just largely invisible to the rest of us, or they look so much like us that it’s hard to tell. The Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program, better known as SNAP and even better known as food stamps, currently has around 46 million participants, a record high. That’s one in eight Americans — 10 people in your subway car, one or two on every line at Walmart. Read article.

L&F on national CBS Sunday Morning program:

Loaves & Fishes was featured in a segment, November 18, on CBS Sunday Morning as part of its annual food show. The topic was rescuing wasted food to fight hunger. Take a look to learn more about our food recovery operations and see some familiar Loaves & Fishes friends!

Visit our YouTube page.

Food Pantry Busier Over the Last Year, L&F Sees More Clients

Courtesy of NCTV17

 

Learn About Loaves & Fishes Smart Choice Program

Courtesy of NCTV17