Each year, the Pantry benefits from fundraisers and food drives held by service organizations, local businesses, school districts and individuals in the community. Following are some of the annual events:

• Letter Carrier Stamp Out Hunger® Food drive

• Maine West High School Warrior Garden

• Forest School Area Turkey Trot

• St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church food drive

• Jewel/Osco Turkey Dinner and Ham Dinner food drives

• Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce & Industry Food Fight  

• Spouses Selling Houses Team Pi(e) Day    

Thank you to all of our supporters - we couldn't do this without you!

Directly from the Director

Spring 2025

When I first told the Board of Directors late last year of my plan to retire at the end of June 2025, that date was down the road and a loooong way of. As we learn through aging though, time flies and berfore we know it, "down the road" is staring us in the face.

More on that in the next issue, but my point here is to recognize how far the Self-Help Closet & Pantry of Des Plaines has come since our relocation in October 2020. For example, this 2016 photo was taken inside our former location at 600 E. Algonquin Rd. As well-stocked as our Pantry appeared at the time, that space is about 1/3 the size of our current Pantry. We managed mainly non-perishable food back then because we had limited freezer/fridge space compared to the walk-in coolers we have today. 

Our client numbers have more than doubled since 2020, and our volunteer base has nearly tripled in order to meet the increased demand for our services. All of which leads me to say, thank you to those who continue to support our organization through challenging times. Your donations of food, funds, time, and talent help us to put food on our clients' tables - facilitating our mission to serve our neighbors in need. All of us remain grateful.

Debra Walusiak, Executive Director