HISTORY OF
COMMUNITY CARE CENTER
During a free community Thanksgiving dinner
sponsored by one of our local organizations it was noticed that there is a large
number of needy families in the area. We investigated and found that
approximately 100 families in our city were receiving food assistance from a
food pantry in a neighboring town. We also discovered that some of our residents
were being denied assistance because the other pantries were becoming
overburdened with their own residents.
A discussion of this situation at a Chamber
of Commerce meeting led to the formation of a committee to create our own food
pantry that would serve our city and several small surrounding communities, with
our goal being to eliminate hunger in our area. The USDA reports that one out of
every ten people in Illinois are "food insecure". This includes those who are
temporarily unemployed, and those who are working at minimum wage jobs and are
not able to make enough to pay for food after rent and utilities. By receiving
food assistance, there is a better chance that their existing resources can be
used to pay for other necessities.
Our committee met monthly beginning in
December 2003. We visited other food pantries to learn what needed to be done
and began searching for a suitable location. We contacted the Northern Illinois
Food Bank and had their rep meet with our committee for a presentation to
educate us. We also toured the Food Bank facility to learn how donated food is
processed and distributed to pantries. We contacted various businesses, civic
organizations, and local churches to establish financial support of the cause.
In the meantime we continued to search for
a location, utilizing newspaper articles and by making presentations to the
local school board and to our city council, hoping that we might be able to
lease any unused space until a more permanent home could be found. With the help
of our mayor we learned of a house that the city was planning on purchasing for
another use. The sale to the city was finalized, we made our request to the City
Council, and they voted to allow the Community Care Center to sign a lease for
use of the building. We recruited a team of volunteers from local churches and
civic organizations to clean up and prepare the old house in August of 2004.
We then began a campaign to raise funds. We
wrote letters, knocked on doors, made phone calls, put up posters and placed
articles in the local newspaper. We were able to raise enough money to purchase
our first few shipments of food, and also received donations of three freezers
and a larger cooler to store perishables.
We arranged with
the food pantry in a neighboring town to advise their clients from our area that
they could receive help from Braidwood beginning October 2004. Our first
shipment of food arrived early September 2004. We had a crew of 10 volunteers
that helped unload, organize and put away approximately 4,000 pounds of food. We
used that shipment as a learning experience before we actually started serving
clients. Our second shipment of about 4,000 pounds of food was received early
October 2004 and we had about 15 volunteers to assist.
We opened our doors
to serve clients on October 5, 2004 with a crew of 7 volunteers.
We are currently open
every Tuesday from 10 am. till 2 p.m. During that time we serve an average of 20
families each week, with the help of 5 or 6 volunteers. We receive food
shipments the first Monday of each month and are assisted by an average of 10
volunteers.
We draw volunteers
on a rotating basis from a current list of about 25 people. We have at least 2
or 3 experienced workers each week in order to train new
volunteers. One person takes care of
registration at the front desk, two escort the clients through the distribution
area, one takes care of the refrigerated and frozen foods, and the bakery goods.
One carries the groceries out to the client's car. We restock the shelves in the
distribution area during "lulls" throughout the day.
Our pantry is a "client
choice" facility, which means that we let the client choose the food they want
to eliminate the problem of having them take home items that their families will
not consume. The quantity for each item is determined by available stock and/or
family size. Each family takes home about 4 boxes of food. We have had 100%
positive feed-back.
We continue to receive regular monthly
financial support from local churches, various individuals and civic
organizations. In addition to the food we purchase at a greatly reduced rate
(approximately 19 cents per pound) from Northern Illinois Food Bank, we also
receive government commodities and donated food from various food drives held by
local organizations.
Each Tuesday a volunteer drives 20 miles to
pick up "day-old" bakery items in the form of cakes, pies, rolls, cookies and
specialty breads from a grocery chain store.
Our Lions Club
always has several volunteers at the ready to assist when ever needed.
We have posters up at
various locations advising residents of the service we offer. That, along with
word-of-mouth advertising, our client base has grown from what was supposed to
be only about 100 families, to an actual 479 separate families as of October
2006. Our library, city hall, police department, and churches refer clients to
us. If there is an emergency situation where a family cannot wait until the next
service day, we make arrangements to open the pantry outside of regular hours.
Our clients register and sign a form indicating their monthly income does not
exceed the limits set by DHS. Clients are eligible to return for food once every
30 days. We keep records in the form of a daily log.
We received the State of Illinois
Governor's Hometown Award for the positive impact our pantry has made in the
community.
We report monthly
to the Braidwood City Council. Our committee currently consists of:
Mayor Wayne Saltzman,
Noreen Brandle pantry director, April Highbaugh assistant director, and Diane
Burns.
Anyone interested
in volunteering for the Community Care Center should contact Noreen Brandle at
815-458-9954 to be put on the volunteer schedule. In addition, financial support
is always needed and appreciated. Contributions can be sent to Community Care
Center, 112 S. Center St., Braidwood, IL 60408.
