Our Mission The mission of the Crystal Lake Food Pantry is: "To Serve the Hungry." We believe no one should go hungry. Purpose The Crystal Lake Food Pantry offers temporary food assistance to Crystal Lake residents who qualify. Beginnings The Crystal Lake Food Pantry was founded in the spring of 1982 by the Church Women United, Caryl Thomas Pastor of the Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church, who attended the first meeting, wrote to all the churches in Crystal Lake. Nine responded, and eight of those became the founding members of the Crystal Lake Food Pantry. The founding members were eight churches: Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian, St Mary's Episcopal , First Baptist, United Methodist, St. Paul’s Untied Church of Christ, First Congregational, Bethany Lutheran and Immanuel Lutheran. The Crystal Lake Food Pantry now has over 20 sponsoring churches, now including: St Thomas (1983), Ressurection (1983), Christian (1983), Calvary Chistian Center (1985), Fox Valley Reform (1985), Crystal Valley (1985), Hope Covenant (1989) and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (1991). The Crystal Lake Food Pantry was incorporated with the help of local attorney John Simco, on April 4, 1983. Food supplies originally were provided solely by sponsoring churches. Not long after, in the mid 1980’s, community organizations and individual residents began donating. This trend has continued until today and we now are blessed by many food drives each year. Government food supplies, commodities such as peanut butter, evaporated mashed potatoes and beef stew were picked up where they were available. Today, any person who meets government guidelines may pick up commodities. On 5 separate occasions, the Food Pantry has moved. Since the space we use is donated by generous benefactors, when market forces cause a particular space to be needed, we needed to move to a new location.
Since its founding, the Crystal Lake Food Pantry has moved and expanded in order to keep pace with the growing need for food assistance in our community. |
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Q & A: What is the location of the Food Pantry? We are located at 257 King Steet. We are across the street from the Chamber of Commerce and the water tower. Where does the Food Pantry get its food? We get food from food drives conducted throughout the year by various community groups such as: the Jaycees, Postal Workers, Grade Schools and our over 20 member churches. We also purchase food from the Northern Illinois Food Bank and local grocery stores (if needed). Can I donate food to the Pantry? Yes, you may donate in a number of ways. You may donate money to the operating fund or the building fund (for the purchase of our new building). You may donate food to the pantry or even sponsor a food drive. There are also volunteer opportunities at the pantry either with your church or individually. For more information please call the Food Pantry and we can help you from there. How does the individual obtain food from the Pantry? People who are in need of food support need only to come to the pantry and fill out an application. We then interview the prospective client and if they meet our criteria, they are able to receive food. Whom do we serve? We serve local residents in need of food. Formerly clients were referred to the pantry by church pastors, priests, township supervisor, social agency or a school district. Since 1990, we have been our own screening agency, reviewing applications and screening clients. Today, qualifying requires filling out an application form which includes names of those in the family requesting aid, monthly income and expenses. Qualifying also requires residence within the Crystal Lake area or attending a Crystal Lake Church.
For the 23 years of The Crystal Lake Food Pantry operation, we have been fortunate to incur minimal administrative costs. We have one part time director who is paid through a grant.
Where does my donation go? Donations all donations go to food purchase and operations. Is my donation tax deductible? Yes! The Crystal Lake Food Pantry is a non profit charitable organization, IRS Code 501(c)(3). Who runs the pantry? The Crystal Lake Food Pantry is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of over 20 representatives of Crystal Lake Churches. This board directs its energy solely to doing the best job possible in order to gather and distribute the resources needed to meet the needs of the hungry in our community.
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