History
For over 30 years, the villages of Oak Park and River Forest have come together to serve the hungry in our community. The Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry was started in the early 1970s by a small group of concerned citizens led by Joe Savino, Executive Director of Youth Services at Oak Park Township and Patricia Funk, a local Girl Scout leader. Initially known as the Hunger Task Force Food Pantry, it was housed in the Faith United Methodist Church for several years. Soon after its inception, the Pantry became associated with the Community of Churches, now known as the Community of Congregations. (Previous managers of the Pantry include Pat Savino, Patricia Koko, Alyce Bode, Karin Pietrini, Leah Beckwith and Anne Wakely.)
As the need for supplemental food grew in our community, the Pantry outgrew its space in Faith United Methodist Church. For a brief time, the Pantry operated out of a storefront before finding its current home within First United Church of Oak Park at 848 Lake Street. A generous landlord, First United not only offers the Pantry rent-free space, but also provides a high level of service and commitment from its staff, Faith in Action Committee, and congregation.
The Holiday Food and Gift Basket Program (HFGB) was an outgrowth of the OPRF Food Pantry. In its early days, the Pantry provided extra holiday food and gifts to its clients. As the client base grew, however, the collection, storage and distribution of food items outstripped both volunteer and spatial resources. Now, the Holiday Food & Gift Basket Program is separate from, but still connected to, the OPRF Food Pantry. While the gift portion is handled completely separately, the Pantry continues to provide gift certificates for food to participants in the HFGB Program. In 2008, over 800 families participated in this program.
Presently, the Pantry is managed by Executive Director Kathy Russell and Director of Operations Michele Zurakowski.