Hymns for Hunger

The Venue 1550, located at 1550 S. State St. will feature a great night of music with performances from Andrew Greer and Cindy Morgan, singer-songwriters from Nashville on Friday March 22 at 7:30 p.m.

The concert is free but donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted for the South Loop Community Church Food Pantry.

To learn about upcoming events at the Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, visit their Web site. You can also find them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Buddy, can you spare a van?

March marks one year since the South Loop Community Church started distributing food to those in need, on a weekly basis. We have been averaging between 55-60 walk-ins every Saturday. We also deliver food to another 30 people every week, who aren’t able to come to the pantry in person, due to physical disabilities.

The SLCC Food Pantry is a member agent of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, which enables us to purchase food at discounted and reduced prices. The GCFD also offers member agents free produce and other food stuffs on occasion. But we’ve had to turn down these free offers because we don’t have enough room in our vehicles. Currently, we pick up our food orders (twice a month) with volunteers’ cars. If we had the use of a van for these twice-a-month pick-ups, we could offer those in need more nourishing food every week.

The SLCC Food Pantry serves up to 100 people  each week.
Help us keep these shelves stocked.

Not everyone can physically volunteer in the food pantry—even though we distribute food once-a-week, it’s a five-day-a-week job—but perhaps you are willing and able to volunteer yourself and your van twice a month.

If you think you could help us out or would like more information about the SLCC Food Pantry and other volunteer opportunities, please call the South Loop Community Church office at 312.566.9076 during weekday business hours.

New Year, new challenges, new thanks

Student volunteers interact with food pantry clients

With January winding down, the SLCC Food Pantry is thankful for how far we’ve come in a relatively short time. This March will mark the pantry’s first-year anniversary. The pantry serves those in need, in the South Loop with nourishing food, every Saturday, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. When we took on the challenge of serving the community on a weekly basis, we weren’t sure how we were going to do it. We had a limited budget and few volunteers.

Sandwiches and salads donated by Pret A Manger

We took a leap of faith. We survived that first week, and the next, and the next. More people started to volunteer. People and organizations started donating food and money. Students from area high schools and colleges started asking if they could volunteer. Businesses like Pret A Manger, Panera Bread, and Dunkin’ Donuts provided us with day-old food items. Local community organization, Greater South Loop Association provided us with funds to purchase turkeys and hams for distribution during the holidays. Local business, Overflow Coffee Bar donated a percentage of their sales to the pantry. Overflow’s biggest contribution, however, was acting as a food drop-off locations. Patrons of Overflow have donated pounds of food almost ever week for months, which has been an enormous help and encouragement. We even had a visit from local food truck entrepreneur, GiGi’s Bake Shop!

Bags of food and volunteers at the ready

As we get closer to our anniversary date, we’re looking to expand our outreach by offering clothing (a need for some of our clients) along with food. More about this in the future.

The South Loop Community Church Food Pantry wants to give a big “thank you” to our friends and neighbors for helping us along the way!

To find out how you can help, please click on the “Donation and Volunteer Opportunities” tab above.

Neighborhood organization and local business contribute to pantry

Neighbors helping neighbors
The Greater South Loop Association and Overflow Coffee Bar have contributed funds for the South Loop Community Church Food Pantry. The GSLA donated $500 from entry donatations taken in during the 2012 Bash on Wabash. Overflow Coffee Bar donated a percentage of sales from their Ten Thousand Villages items they sell and feature every Saturday at the coffee bar. Since the food pantry operates with a very small budget, provided by South Loop Community Church,

donations are really appreciated and necessary for us to provide nourishing food to those in need in the South Loop.







Give thanks
Next time you’re at Overflow Coffee Bar or attend a GSLA meeting, please thank them for supporting the food pantry. You can find the GSLA and Overflow on Facebook and Twitter. Here are their respective links: GLSA on Facebook, Twitter; Overflow on Facebook, Twitter.

Attend the Bash on Wabash this weekend and support the SLCC Food Pantry

The Greater South Loop Association, sponsors of the annual Bash on Wabash, will give a portion of the proceeds from the street festival to the South Loop Community Church Food Pantry. The 2012 Bash on Wabash will take place on August 25 and 26 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. both days. When people arrive at the gate, they will see the following:

A portion of the proceeds from the Greater South Loop Association’s “Bash on Wabash” will go toward the South Loop Community Church Food Pantry. The SLCC Food Pantry serves Chicago residents in need of good, nourishing food. Every Saturday, from 9-11am, the pantry gives each family a bag of groceries, as well as fresh vegetables, bread, and protein, when available. The SLCC Food Pantry is a member agent of the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

2011 Bash on Wabash

The Bash on Wabash is a family-friendly event with music, food, games, and a lively children’s play area. For more information on the Bash, visit the official Bash Web site. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.

“Good Neighbors”: Overflow Coffee Bar

Do you love the South Loop? T-shirts on
sale at Overflow Coffee Bar

Overflow Coffee Bar at 1550 S. State St. has been a supporter of the SLCC Food Pantry from the very beginning. They were the first establishment that agreed to put a food drop-off basket in their store. Owners Amanda and Brandon Neely and their customers have been very faithful in depositing nonperishable food items in that basket, every week, often to overflowing (hmm, that reminds me of a coffee shop in town).  


Business with a mission
Overflow’s mission is to change the world “one cup at a time” and they’re living out that mission on a daily basis. We can’t thank them and their customers enough for their generosity and good spirit towards us. When you’re in the neighborhood, stop into Overflow for a cup of coffee, a sandwich, pastry, t-shirt, and thank them for their support. We couldn’t do what we do without our “good neighbors.”

2012 Hunger Walk

The Greater Chicago Food Depository 27th Annual Hunger Walk is June 23 at Soldier Field. Registration is 7 a.m. Step-off at 8:30 a.m. The walk is the major fund raising event for the Depository. Member food pantries and soup kitchens will be participating in the walk and South Loop Community Church Food Pantry will be at part of this exciting event.

“Do It For Chicago”
The Hunger Walk is an annual 5K (3.1 miles) event to raise funds and awareness for the Food Depository’s work in Cook County and network of 650 agencies (food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters). The Food Depository covers the overhead expenses for the event so all funds raised can be divided among the agencies to help supplement their budgets or, in some cases, serve as their entire annual budget. This is the largest one-day anti-hunger event in Chicago that brings together all of Cook County.

Please join our team!
Feel free to make a donation to our team by clicking our Hunger Walk Team page, or consider making one to the event as a whole. Either way, we hope we can count on your support. The SLCC Food Pantry, and the Food Depository and its network, truly appreciate your support.