Community

Interested in smashing a pie in your boss’ face to raise money for Loaves & Fishes? Check out this clip, courtesy of our friends at NSA Media in Downers Grove, who did this exact thing! NSA Media Pie Smash! from Mike Neerhof on Vimeo.

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 Services received a $20,000 grant; and RE:NEW received a $10,000 grant. Established in 2011, the Spirit of Volunteerism Awards were created… Read more »

Loaves & Fishes Community Services and 360 Youth Services have created a unique partnership to assist young men, ages 18-24, in the 360 Youth Services transitional housing program who lack the credentials and experience necessary to be competitive candidates in the workforce. These youth face many challenges in their quest for self-sufficiency, including unemployment. Since… Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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.

from Ron Ory, Naperville Community Gardeners:   For those of you away for the weekend, we had our most significant rainfall of the year:  3.5 inches at the plots.   Yielding another 75 pounds of produce.  We’re averaging over 200 lbs per week.  We’re nearing 1,800 lbs for the season.  Do I hear 3,000?   We’re also adding some cut flowers, leaving enough for the birds and the bees. Our most prolific are cosmos   and sunflowers   We’ve also got some unusual ones, like this celoseus.   We’re not only doing good for the year, but lookin’ good, too!   Yay, TEAM!