Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry will distribute groceries from a mobile pantry from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at New Covenant Full Gospel Church, 1029 Kane St. in Aurora.
The public is invited. Admission is free. Identification and registration are not required.
In addition to groceries, diapers, toilet paper, laundry detergent and books will be distributed.
Rebecca Dunnigan, community impact manager, said mobile pantries were launched in January 2021, with a grant from Aurora Women’s Empowerment Foundation. AWE, an Aurora -based nonprofit, was formed in 2018 after the Aurora YWCA closed after nearly 125 years.
AWE chair Amy Bauduin said, “Our mission is to elevate and empower Aurora-area women and future women by making grants to tax-exempt nonprofits engaged in meaningful, measurable work that helps women over the hurdles of inequity and exclusion, propelling them forward with life-changing programs and services.”
With pantry staffers and volunteers, a truck visits area locations to distribute groceries and household items.
Interfaith mobile pantries visit parking lots at churches, schools, libraries and senior and low-income residences. Mobile-pantry partners with Interfaith are Fox Valley Park District and Blessings in a Backpack of Chicago.
Interfaith mobile pantries deliver food for 200 families on a first-come basis. Items distributed include granola bars, fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, pasta, pasta sauce, eggs, ground beef, cereal, applesauce, apple juice and box dinners. Additionally, when available, laundry detergent, toilet paper, hand soap, kids’ band aids, hand sanitizer and school supplies are distributed.
Patrons do not need to leave their vehicles to claim food. Pantry volunteers observe pandemic safety procedures when loading bags of groceries and household items valued at $100 into patrons’ vehicles.
Call (630) 692-3061, e-mail rdunnigan@aurorafoodpantry.org or visit aurorafoodpantry.org for more information.
—Al Benson