Together We Cope Pantry Coordinators Ask for Help Stocking Sparse Shelves

Carol Ettema scanned the storage area of the Food Pantry last week and immediately felt uneasy.

"I've never seen our food supply so low in all the years I've been here," said Ettema, director of food pantry services for the nonprofit organization. “It’s a combination of greater demand for our services and the current higher cost of food."

mission is to bridge the gap for Southland residents in temporary crisis by providing food, shelter, clothing and help returning to self-sufficiency, according to its website. The organization guides families in more than 20 communities throughout Bremen, Palos, Orland and Worth townships.

And lately, demand has been greater than ever before. The pantry typically helps 40-45 families during daily service hours, Ettema said, noting that's "about all we can handle." But last week, volunteers led 64 families through the pantry in one day.

"There are just so many families and so many unemployments," she said, shaking her head. "During the holidays, we get huge donations. But other times of the year, people kind of forget we're here."

Some of the pantry's goods come from the Greater Chicago Food Depository, where volunteers and staff go every Tuesday to stock up.

Last week, they were only able to get 5,800 pounds of food—significantly less than their usual 8,000—because the Chicago pantry is also depleted, Ettema said.

"We needed vegetables but they didn't even have them there," she said, noting that Together We Cope pays 7 cents a pound at the depository.

The pantry relies on community donations to fill the gaps. And times have been tough.

But just when the food supply was looking bleakest, Ettema got a visit Saturday morning from Oak Forest-based Boy Scouts of America Troop 348. They spent about an hour stocking the shelves with several hundred pounds of the essentials—fruits, canned vegetables and bread items. It was exactly what Ettema said they needed most.

The boys were working toward their Citizenship in the Community merit badges, they said, and had stood outside EuroFresh on Harlem Avenue handing out fliers and asking for donations.

"I just picture myself if I never had any food," Andy Quintanilla, 11, of Oak Forest, said. "I'd be very sad and hungry. I don't want anyone to feel like that."

Quintanilla's dad and the troop's assistant scoutmaster, Wally, said the charity work gives the kids perspective.

"None of these boys have ever gone without food," he said. "This allows them to visualize that need first-hand."

Ettema breathed a sigh of relief, she said, but she knows the donations will last only a couple of weeks.

"It will get us through, but there's a constant need," she said. "We don't turn anyone away and we don't plan to. It's a lot of work, we need a lot of help. I just hope people remember that we're here."

Lend a Hand

Ettema said there are three ways people can help: Donate food, donate money to be used for food, or donate time volunteering at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Volunteer hours there are given in the name of Together We Cope to earn points that can be used to buy food for the pantry.

The pantry currently has a special need for the following items: peanut butter, jelly, pasta, noodles, beans, cereal, canned meats, tuna fish, canned soups, ramen soups, canned fruits, canned vegetables, spaghetti sauce and 1-pound packages of rice.

For more information or to learn how you can organize a food drive, visit the organization's website.

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