Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Results
The VITA team, 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… Read more »
Rep Bill Foster (D-IL) visits Loaves & Fishes
Congressman Foster recently toured Loaves & Fishes in response to our letter regarding the Farm Bill. We are sharing the letter’s contents here. Please see pictures from the visit and tour below. Dear Congressman Foster: Loaves & Fishes has a vital interest in advancing the Farm Bill. We serve over 600 low income households every week,… Read more »
The Government’s Role In Helping Us Live Generously
from The Far Edge of Promise on December 27, 2012: As the U.S. federal government approaches the January 1 “fiscal cliff” deadline, there continues to be discussion around closing tax “loopholes” in an effort to increase tax receipts. As has been discussed previously, the charitable gift deduction has gotten swept up into this conversation. It would… Read more »
Loaves & Fishes Community Services continues to address unprecedented need in Naperville
from Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce December 7, 2012 By: Susan Frick Carlman This might sound like a broken record, but the Loaves & Fishes Community Services has broken its own grim record. Again. During November, the Naperville hunger relief agency fed 1,972 families in need, some of whom turned to the pantry more than… Read more »
Thanksgiving – families served Nov 13-20, 2012
From November 13th through the 20th, Loaves & Fishes served 4,185 persons, of whom 1,839 were children, 2,118 adults, and 228 seniors, in a total of 996 households. Yes, this is a record week. However, each of these persons and families received a generous amount of food, including a turkey with all the trimmings for… Read more »
Jody Bender – It’s not a job; it’s a passion
from Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Women In Business: November 15, 2012 By: Erin Patti – Financial Advisor Jody Bender is the Community Relations Director at Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry; she loves to gather everyone together in order to provide for the well-being of others. Day after day, she observes the generosity of Naperville in… Read more »
Garden volunteers glean harvest for Loaves & Fishes
from Naperville Park District: On Monday, October 15, 22 enthusiastic volunteers worked from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. gathering vegetables left behind after the Naperville Park District’s Garden Plots were closed for the season. This year’s gleaning yielded over 680 lbs. of vegetables for Loaves & Fishes Community Services. Master Gardeners Ron Ory and Logan… Read more »
Confronting Poverty – Helping the Poor through Tax Credits
from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA): This time of year we hear a lot of rhetoric and debate about taxes from politicians and pundits. One topic missing from this debate, though, is a discussion of the tax credit programs that greatly benefit low-income families, mainly the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the… Read more »
Gardening Update: 2,500 pounds donated so far!
From Ron Ory, September 17: Some of you may have forgotten that months ago we started with a patch of dirt… Faced the hardships of slugs… Lack of nutrients in the soil… And usually found the rain gauge on empty… You probably pondered with other gardeners about our chances… But you kept going, planting, watering… Read more »
Naperville Community Gardening Update
from Ron Ory: Since the nights are now starting to cool, we planted four flats of lettuce started by Pat, and seen here being watered by Ellie: And the harvest continues: We’re over 2,300 pounds! Thank you, Master Gardeners and Naperville Community Gardeners! Published with permission from Loaves & Fishes Community Services Source.