The purpose of the Irving Park Community Food Pantry is to offer emergency and supplemental food, free of charge, to low-income families and individuals in need. Persons and families may lack the means of subsistence for a variety of reasons, which include fire, robbery, delayed or lost income payments, ill health -- and most commonly, poverty. Our Pantry is open every Wednesday between 9:00 am and 12:30 pm. Each month, Pantry clients receive approximately a three-day supply of free food (or about 10% of the total food need for a month). The amount of food received is based on the family size. New clients must enroll in the program and provide verification of identity, family size and residence within our service area.

Our Vision-

Our vision is to provide caring, consistent quality of service and an equitable distribution of available Pantry resources to all clients. It is our belief that service offered in this manner increases the self worth and dignity of each person. Services like ours enhance the community as a whole and help to make our neighborhood one in which residents take pride, where people desire to live and raise their families as people of good will. Together we are doing important work – together we are neighbors helping neighbors!

Programmes and Activities-

1) Food Distribution: The major focus of our Pantry is to obtain and distribute food to our needy neighbors. This takes place every Wednesday between 9:00 am and 12:30 pm. The distribution is done by community members who volunteer their time to assist those in need.
2) Homebound Delivery: Once per month, Pantry volunteers deliver food to those who are shut-in or otherwise unable to visit the Pantry in person due to health reasons or advanced age.
3) Holiday Distributions: The Pantry helps make the holiday season a bit brighter for those we serve by providing special food distributions for Thanksgiving and Christmas. These distributions offer the fixings to create a full holiday meal for their family.
4) Holiday Toy Distribution: The Pantry collects and distributes toys, games and other gift items to bring holiday joy to the children of our Pantry clients.
5) School Supplies Distribution: Additional distributions are made to families with children. Each August, the Pantry distributes school supplies to help children get off to a good start as the new school year begins.
6) Supportive Services: We recognize that those we serve often have many needs and concerns that go beyond putting food on the table. We help direct our clients to appropriate community resources and benefits programs to obtain the help they need.
7) Nutrition Education/Cooking Classes: The Pantry annually sponsors nutritional and cooking classes for clients. The classes help clients to learn how to best utilize the food they receive from us and to plan nutritious meals for their families.