Summer Storms Leave Elsie's Pantry In Dire Need Of Non-Perishable Food Donations

PALOS HILLS, IL—Elsie’s Pantry is asking the community for donations of non-perishable food items after a summer of being battered by storms and power outages. Volunteers were forced to throw out three freezers' worth of meat, eggs and milk due to power outages from violent storms earlier this month.

The pantry at Savior Divine Lutheran Church in Palos Hills was just starting to get back on its feet after a derecho and EF-2 ripped through the area in June. Like many area residents, Elsie’s Pantry suffered power outages for four or more days.

“During the [June] outage we did give some of our meat away to another pantry that had a freezer,” Heinrich told Patch. “We didn’t open our other two freezers, and everything stayed frozen inside.”

Elsie’s Pantry secures food mainly from the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which distributes meat, eggs and milk it receives from government programs such as the USDA to its 850 network pantries—including Elsie’s Pantry.

“We had to throw out three freezers of meat during the storm two weeks ago,” Heinrich said. “Some came from our food rescue and donations. We’ll purchase meat from Jewel if we run low when it has a buy-one-get two sale. Jewel has been wonderful. We take advantage of the sales.”

Last fall, Heinrich said requests for food assistance poured in when SNAP benefits were suspended during the federal government shutdown. The pantry averaged 120 or more households per month.

Now, the line for the pantry outside Savior Divine Lutheran Church is starting to grow again.

“It was getting to be too much, and we were running out of food,” Heinrich told Patch. “We're averaging 70 to 85 families this month. That’s not individuals—those are households.”

The pantry is open every Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. Cuts to the USDA and other government programs have caused Elsie’s Pantry to limit pickups to every other week.

Part of the reason the pantry is running low on food is that it’s the end of the summer. High grocery prices are also bringing in new clients as individuals and families absorb the biggest jump in grocery prices in a half-century. .

Buying food to eat at home has gotten 33 percent more expensive in U.S. cities since the beginning of 2019, according to government figures. In the 7.5 years before that, prices rose 6.4 percent, the Associated Press reported.

“Our canned foods are depleted,” Heinrich said. “High grocery prices have a lot to do with it.”

Heinrich is hoping community donations pick up now that fall is approaching, as schools, scout troops, chambers and places of worship start holding food drives.

In addition to food assistance, pantry clients are also asking for pet food.

“Before we required immunization records because we have an overabundance of dog food,” Heinrich said. “We run out of dog food every week, and for some reason we’re always in need of cat food.”

Elsie's Pantry is open every Thursday to people living in Palos Hills, Palos Park, Palos Heights, Hickory Hills, Willow Springs, Justice, Bridgeview and Palos Township. Admittance is also based on monthly income level.

The pantry was started in 2000 with $1,800 as a memorial to Elsie Schraeder, a congregant at Moraine Valley Community Church. Rather than purchasing computers, her family asked that the money go to helping people and the room where foodstuffs were stored was named “Elsie’s Pantry.” The pantry has since relocated to Savior Divine Lutheran.

“She would give her last dollar to anyone who needed it,” Heinrich said.

Non-perishable food items can be dropped off in the box outside of Savior Divine Lutheran, 10040 S, 88th Ave., Palos Hills.

To start a food drive, seek food assistance, learn about qualifications, or make an in-kind or monetary donation, contact pantry director Beth Heinrich at 708-598-4435, or beth.heirnrich62@gmail.com.