Our Beginning
Like many food pantries, ours started out in a church basement…
Uplifting neighbors
2015: We boxed food in the basement of the Faith Lutheran Church in Brookfield. The food needed to be ported upstairs to the church’s garage in an adjacent alley. Neighbors coming from many communities drove through the alley to receive the food.
2021: We moved to our present location. A former factory, the building offered lots of new room. But it also came with lots of new overhead costs, including a mortgage. We had become an independent, 501(c)3 not-for-profit enterprise. An all-volunteer business. Relying on the Greater Chicago Food Depository for our expanded food supply. Relying on donations to pay our bills. When a sad, but fortuitous event occurred…
2022: After 90 years of service to the community, the Faith Lutheran Church in Brookfield closed. As a final act of love and hope, church members voted to donate the ownership of the building to our fledgling food pantry. Such that its sale would assure the pantry’s launch.
Keeping the faith
2023: The pantry sold the church and grounds. Proceeds of the sale enabled us to shed all debt associated with the purchase of our building. Unburdened by the debt, the pantry continues to flow all donor contributions toward achieving its vision, mission, and strategies for change.
In the news…
In Grateful Memory of Cathy Edwards…
A community leader. Our earliest mentor. Cathy Edwards was there for us during our food pantry’s fledgling startup. She was our constant advisor and champion for change, just as she had long been for the Village of Brookfield, and for the region in which we live.
Cathy Edwards