{"id":7230,"date":"2025-02-13T07:25:28","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T07:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7230"},"modified":"2025-02-13T07:25:28","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T07:25:28","slug":"a-look-ahead-illinois-valley-food-pantry-eyes-new-facility-as-clients-increase-shaw-local-news-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7230","title":{"rendered":"A look ahead: Illinois Valley Food Pantry eyes new facility as clients increase – Shaw Local News Network"},"content":{"rendered":"


Mary Jo Credi executive director of the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, carries food to a client during the Christmas distribution on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 at the Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
Shaw Local staff members selected the stories that have made the biggest impact in 2024 and looked ahead at what\u2019s next in 2025 for a year-in-review series.<\/b>
Lance Korter still can picture the look on a little girl\u2019s face when he handed her a birthday cake donated to the Illinois Valley Food Pantry.
\u201cIt was like I gave her a million dollars \u2014 I could tell by the look on her face,\u201d he said.
Korter, who has been with the pantry for about five years and is a board member, said that is one of many moments that keeps him coming back to aid the community.
The Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle<\/a> has continued to see an increase in services. Executive Director Mary Jo Credi said last fiscal year the pantry saw a 55% increase \u2014 with a 5% jump this year.
\u201cWe are averaging about 500 families a month,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s growing and it\u2019s growing at a drastic rate.\u201d
Credi said the the cost of living is the culprit. The pantry has seen an increase in new clients, including large families.
To keep up with the demand, the pantry has been looking for a new facility.
She said the food pantry would like to stay in the La Salle-Peru area because it\u2019s centrally located and 60% of the pantry\u2019s clientele are La Salle residents.
\u201cWe\u2019re looking for about 6 to 6,500 square-feet, all one floor,\u201d Credi. \u201cA warehouse type with walk-in coolers.\u201d
Credi said the coolers would have to be outside in order to maintain the square footage inside. The pantry has looked at properties in the area, but to maintain the health department and the pantry\u2019s standards the pantry found it will be more cost effective to build.
\u201cWe are looking at a piece of land right now in the city of La Salle,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re in negotiations.\u201d
Credi said the pantry is looking at a little more than $1 million to build a new pantry and ideally she would love to be in that location by Thanksgiving of next year\u2014 but the pantry will need donations to help make a new building happen.
\u201cWe\u2019re just saying we do a pretty good job in feeding your people and if you could help us that\u2019d be great.\u201d
Koster said during Monday\u2019s La Salle City Council meeting that the pantry can\u2019t ask for donations when it doesn\u2019t have a building yet.
However, right now the pantry is in dire need of funds to stay above water. The pantry went to the La Salle City Council<\/a> on Dec. 9 to ask for $15,000 assistance annually and the council put the assistance on hold.
A full pallet of hams is placed outside during the Christmas distribution on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 at the Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
Credi said in 2020, La Salle donated $500 and they haven\u2019t seen any money since.
\u201cThis is the Illinois Valley Food Pantry,\u201d Korter said. \u201cBut it\u2019s actually the La Salle food pantry. \u2026 If we are going to do this for your constituents then some reciprocation would be great because we suffer the same amount of increase in food as a regular person.\u201d
The pantry served 3,000 meals to La Salle residents within the last fiscal year, he said. Taking into account the bundle the pantry gives each family with perishables and nonperishables would be about $50 \u2014 that is $150,000 spent on only La Salle residents in a fiscal year.
Bill Zens, executive director with the Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce places a bag of food into a trunk of a vehicle during the Christmas distribution on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 at the Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
\u201cSo you know $15,000 is not a drop in the bucket,\u201d Korter said. \u201cBut, it\u2019s still cheap for what we do for the town. We\u2019ll continue to do it \u2026 We\u2019re just saying we do a pretty good job in feeding your people and if you could help us that\u2019d be great.\u201d
The La Salle City Council tabled the issue again on Monday, saying that while it was an important organization they wanted to see if they were able to budget a large donation.
Alderman Tom Ptak said the council felt with a large sum of money it should be looked at a little differently, such as where it would come from and if there is money available.
\u201cThe question was asked when is their next big event \u2014 Easter,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, maybe we can buy a little time that we\u2019ll still be in our fiscal period \u2026 obviously it\u2019s a good cause, obviously there\u2019s a need for it.\u201d
Credi said the pantry lives on donations; as it has overhead as well, rent, utilities, garbage pickup and volunteers shop for food too just to keep the families that need it \u2014 keep food on their tables.
In this fiscal year so far, (September to November with Thanksgiving baskets included), the pantry has spent $35,500 on food. Last year, it spent $105,200.
The pantry handed out 359 Thanksgiving boxes and it made about 400 prepared for Christmas and handed out 250. The remaining food will be distributed throughout the year.
The pantry has increased its food spending since it began hosting a summer program to bridge the gap for families during the months the children are out of school and can\u2019t benefit from the breakfast and lunch programs.
In 2020, when the pantry began the program, it spent $13,000 on the summer program \u2014 in 2024 it spent $92,000.
\u201cWe jumped from 252 kids in 2020 to 932 in 2024,\u201d Credi said. \u201cSo, what really happened is people realized what we were doing \u2026we just make sure the kids get some nourishment over the summer.\u201d
Looking into next year, Credi said she would like to see less people needing the service.
\u201cUnfortunately, most places if you\u2019re busy that\u2019s wonderful,\u201d she said. \u201cBut, with us if we\u2019re busy it\u2019s sad. So, I would love to see this economy straighten up, where people can start taking care of themselves.\u201d
The Illinois Valley Food Pantry is taking food donations, but monetary donations also are appreciated. To donate or for more information visit https:\/\/ivfoodpantry.com.
A line of cars wait in line during the Christmas distribution on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, at the Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle. <\/span>(Scott Anderson)
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network<\/p>\n

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Mary Jo Credi executive director of the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, carries food to a client during the Christmas distribution on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 at the Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle. (Scott Anderson)Shaw Local staff members selected the stories that have made the biggest impact in 2024 and looked ahead at what\u2019s next in 2025 for a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t