Skip to content
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
Suburban Chicagoland

Suburban Chicagoland

Original News, Features & Opinion on local and regional news you won't find anywhere else

  • About
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Our Writers
      • Ray Hanania
      • Bill Lipinski
      • Biography: Aaron Hanania
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Reach Out
  • Sections
    • Events
    • Opinion
    • News
    • Features
    • Seniors
    • Comic Strip
  • Library
    • “MIdnight Flight” Online Book
      • Midnight Flight Book Overview
      • Midnight Flight Introduction
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 1
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 2
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 3
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 4
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 5
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 6
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 7
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 8
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 9
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 10
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 11
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 12
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 13
    • Villages, Cities & Towns
    • Federal Office Holders
    • County Officials
    • Legislators
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Comment
  • Podcast
    • Ray Hanania on Politics
    • Two Guys on Politics
    • Hanania on Tiktok
  • News Wire
  • Archive 2004-2013
  • Toggle search form
  • Father and two daughters Jeffery M Leving
    Father’s Fight to Protect his Abused and Badly Beaten Daughters Dads' Rights
  • Illinois Senator Michael Hastings addressing the Orland Township Democratic Organization Wednesday Oct. 12, 2022
    Hastings announces $75,000 grant for Olympia Fields Bicentennial Park renovations Illinois Legislature
  • Alleged Member of Chicago Street Gang Charged With Soliciting the Murder of Senior Law Enforcement Official Involved in “Operation Midway Blitz” Crime
  • IIEC Logo
    The Energy Omnibus Bill will increase rates over the rest of this decade as Illinois families and businesses toil under higher utility costs Business
  • Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Polish hero of the American Revolution. After arriving in America in 1776, Kosciuszko joined the Continental Army. As a skilled engineer, he made significant contributions to the war by designing fortifications for several strategic places such as Philadelphia, West Point, and Saratoga. Kosciuszko later returned to Poland to lead his native military in a 1794 uprising. In Detroit, Courtesy of WIkipedia
    Cook County Treasurer Pappas showcases Polish photographer’s first-ever American exhibit and honors Polish American Heritage Month in Chicago Cook County
  • On Saturday, October 4th, Cook County Commissioner Frank J. Aguilar hosted the Fifth Annual 16th District Dia de los Muertos Resource Fair at his district office. Partnering with Commissioner Aguilar were the Village of Lyons, Lyons School District 103, Teamsters Local 777, and Rincon Family Services.
    Commissioner Frank J. Aguilar Hosts Fifth Annual Dia de los Muertos Family Resource Fair  Cook County
  • Jesse Jackson Jr July 2025
    Jesse Jackson Jr. Launches Candidacy for Congress Civil Rights
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas to Celebrate Diwali by Recognizing Indian Community Leaders Cook County
  • Andrew Boutros US Attorney Illinois
    Statement of US Attorney Andrew S. Boutros and Federal Law Enforcement Leadership in Chicago on Ongoing Criminal Immigration Enforcement Operations Chicago
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    The 5 Most Common Mistakes Homeowners Make with Property Taxes Cook County
  • Road construction cement truck. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Hastings: $123 million in IDOT projects will improve South Suburban roads through collaboration with local leaders construction
  • Source: Electric Power Monthly - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
    Ratepayers will lose in the rush to approve battery storage electricity legislation in Springfield Business
  • Joyful reunion photo courtesy of Jeffery M. Leving & Assc law firm
    Leving Team Prevented a Father’s Wrongful Separation from His Child Dads' Rights
  • CTF Illinois Orland Park, 18230 Orland Pkwy, Orland Park, IL 60467
    Hastings, Giannoulias announce opening of temporary driver services facility in Orland Park Baby Boomers
  • Emagine Theater Pink popcorn
    Popcorn with a purpose: Emagine Theatres brings back Pink Caramel Corn to support Pink Fund during Breast Cancer Awareness Month Business
Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek visits the new Food Pantry in Bridgeview. Photo courtesy of the Des Plaines Valley News

Bridgeview Food Pantry helps many

Posted on June 28, 2017June 28, 2017 By Steve Metsch No Comments on Bridgeview Food Pantry helps many
SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  

Bridgeview Food Pantry  helps many

Staffed by volunteers, held in community center

By Steve Metsch

Steve MetschFor members of the Oak Lawn Community Church and other volunteers, Wednesday is always a special day.

That’s the day they spend hours making sure there’s plenty of food available for their clients, some making a monthly visit, some making their first.

They are at the new Bridgeview Food Pantry, open from noon to 2 p.m. each Wednesday, at the Bridgeview Community Center, 79th Street and Oketo Avenue.

The doors are open to anyone who needs food, provided they live in one of 20 southwest suburbs and parts of nearby Chicago.

Alice Bruce and Carol Swanson are co-coordinators of the food pantry.

Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek visits the new Food Pantry in Bridgeview. Photo courtesy of the Des Plaines Valley News
Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek visits the new Food Pantry in Bridgeview. Photo courtesy of the Des Plaines Valley News

“We have a wonderful staff of volunteers, about 15 each week,” Swanson, of Oak Lawn, said.

They arrive around 9 a.m. and proceed to load up brown paper grocery bags with staples such as fruits, vegetables, pasta or rice, tomato sauce and prepackaged “casserole bags,” all the ingredients needed for a casserole.

The food pantry had been running at least 15 years at Oak Lawn Community Church, 91st and Ridgeland. But when the church sold the building last year, the new owner eventually decided there was no room for a food pantry.

Fortunately, Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek heard about the situation, stepped up and offered the community center as the food pantry’s new home.

The village had been running its own food pantry on Friday. This replaces that one.

Landek said he was “happy to give them a home.”

“The most interesting thing about our food pantry is that it is run by a faith-based organization. We relinquished our role to them and the program is bigger and better,” Landek said, thanking the volunteers for “the good work they do.”

Those volunteers take the people around and they have choices of what they can have, Swanson said.

Bruce said it doesn’t happen often, but they occasionally get a homeless person at the food pantry. Such was the case on May 31 when a young lady showed up needing groceries.

“She has an ID with her. She’s moving into the area. We’re giving her food today, but when she comes back she has to bring identification that she lives in the area. We try to take care of everyone, but we don’t want people to take advantage of us,” Bruce said.

Clients can get food at the Bridgeview pantry once a month.

“We make 30 bags each Wednesday, that’s our goal,” Swanson said.

Some weeks, those bags go fast. Sometimes they don’t.

Bruce said all kind of economic levels show up, noting “we are all only one paycheck away from being homeless ourselves.”

One anonymous man visits three times a year bringing four cases of spaghetti, four cases of spaghetti sauce, four cases of mac and cheese, and four cases of mashed potatoes. He never says his name and wants nothing in return, Bruce said.

Local churches donate, as do some large chain stores like Costco. The Greater Chicago Food Depository is another valuable source of food items.

On May 31, a first-time visitor is escorted by Swanson, who takes her time leading him through the process, offering him a bag that’s already been filled, along with other items he decided he needs.

“Help yourself to cereal, anything else you want,” Swanson told him.
Andrew Schrode, 59, of Hickory Hills, said he “got notice I’m losing my job in two weeks.”

“I’ve got to cut ends as much as possible I found this food pantry by accident, and I said, ‘Let me check this one out’,” he said. He shopped for himself, his wife, their son and two grandsons.

A military man for 24 years, he had worked for a warehouse in Hodgkins that’s affiliated with Caterpillar, which announced his job will soon disappear. He thanked the volunteers as he walked out, his arms filled with groceries.

Scenes like that keep volunteers coming back, said Kim DeJesus, of Burbank. The pantry is for anyone who wants to volunteer. You need not be a church member. DeJesus is not. But she’s volunteered for about eight years, she said.

“It means everything to me. I enjoy giving back, donating my time and helping people here. There are people who have never been to a pantry before. They feel awkward being here and I think I do a really good job letting them know it’s okay,” DeJesus said.

DeJesus said she can’t help but feel good when she leaves, “knowing I’ve helped out a few people.”

“We all need help sometimes. It’s here. Why not? It’s for everybody. It doesn’t matter if you have a job or not. You’re still welcome to come to our pantry once a month,” DeJesus said.

A new volunteer, Rita McKendrick, of Chicago, started helping in January. “I retired and I wanted something to do,” she said with a laugh.

She plans to visit the Greater Chicago Food Depository with Swanson when she visits to stock up on supplies.

For more information about the food pantry or to make donations, call James Nagel, who manages the community center, at 708-458-4675 or 708-924-8080.

The Bridgeview Food Pantry serves residents of Alsip, Bedford Park, Blue Island, Bridgeview, Burbank, Chicago Ridge, Crestwood, Evergreen Park, Hickory Hills, Hometown, Justice, Midlothian, Oak Lawn, Palos Heights, Palos Hills, Palos Park, Stickney, Summit, Worth and Willow Springs. Chicago residents living in the 60632, 60629, 60638, 60655 and 60652 ZIP codes are eligible, as are the homeless.

— Desplaines Valley News

newswire info
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Steve Metsch
Steve Metsch
Steve Metsch is an award winning veteran reporter who previously worked for the Daily Southtown Newspapers, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Metsch is a writer and editor at the Southwest News Newspaper group based in suburban Chicago, and a freelance writer a health magazine, the Suburban Life, the Naperville Sun, and other organizations.
Email Steve Metsch at [email protected]
Steve Metsch
Latest posts by Steve Metsch (see all)
  • Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band are still rockin’ - August 10, 2023
  • Weathering personal storms - July 20, 2023
  • Countryside solution irks some - July 20, 2023
NPV: 50
  • Tweet

SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  
 
 
 
           
Features, News Tags:Bridgeview, Bridgeview Food Pantry, Mayor Steve Landek, Oak Lawn Community Church

Post navigation

Previous Post: Troopathon to send care packages to our troops overseas
Next Post: Marie Newman announces candidacy for 3rd Congressional District

Related Posts

  • Flags in Public Plaza. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Deadline Nears To Add Veteran’s Name to Orland Park Memorial Wall Cook County
  • Preliminary vote shows Abdelnasser Rashid unseats incumbent Mike Zalewski Chicago
  • Turkey Dinner table setting
    Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park offers Chef-Made Thanksgiving Dinner at Home Menu Entertainment
  • Lora Kreczmer Arrest Warrant Chicago Ridge Police
    Orland Township trustee candidate has outstanding arrest warrant breaking news
  • CoronaVirus courtesy of Wikipedia
    More Than 100 New COVID-19 Vaccination Locations Added Cook County
  • Miracle in Lyons News

More Related Articles

Intercontinental Chicago offers Windy City Wonderland with holiday programs and packages Chicago
car crashed through the front window of CosmoProf at 9109 W. 151st Street in Orland Park on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 11:45 AM. Vehicle crashes into Orland Park cosmetic store front Cook County
CDC Image of girl sneezing. Coronavirus Orland Park Centennial Aquatic Center closed August 13th for “Sanitation and Disinfection” breaking news
Orland Park resident Chris Kasmer appointed to DIstrict 230 Board District 230 Board of Education appoints new member Education
Police Squad Car, courtesy of Wikipedia Bond Set at $20,000 for Wheaton Man Accused of Criminal Sexual Assault/Illegal Videotaping of Women Crime
Microphone in Radio Studio, Leving Law Firm Dad and children reunited for the holidays Arthur Kallow

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Login with your Social ID
  • OPINION
  • 06-04-25 Two Guys on Politics Background Zoom LOGO with images
    Video Podcast: Trump Kimmel Kirk Great American Divide Illegal Aliens polling and Illegal Aliens and ICE
    September 20, 2025
  • Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch speaking at a West Side affordable housing dedication
    Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, one of the best candidates to become Illinois Governor
    September 7, 2025
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    What You’re Missing on Your Property Tax Bill
    September 5, 2025
  • 05-23-25 Jeffery M. Leving
    Children of divorce caught in the middle during the holidays
    August 27, 2025
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    We Can Help You Understand Your Property Taxes—In Nearly Any Language
    August 8, 2025
Subscribe to Ray Hanania's column graphic

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png

Mohammed Faheem The Lightning Strike Radio

  • NEWS
  • Father and two daughters Jeffery M Leving
    Father’s Fight to Protect his Abused and Badly Beaten Daughters
    October 9, 2025
  • Illinois Senator Michael Hastings addressing the Orland Township Democratic Organization Wednesday Oct. 12, 2022
    Hastings announces $75,000 grant for Olympia Fields Bicentennial Park renovations
    October 8, 2025
  • Alleged Member of Chicago Street Gang Charged With Soliciting the Murder of Senior Law Enforcement Official Involved in “Operation Midway Blitz”
    October 8, 2025
  • IIEC Logo
    The Energy Omnibus Bill will increase rates over the rest of this decade as Illinois families and businesses toil under higher utility costs
    October 8, 2025
  • Thaddeus Kosciuszko, Polish hero of the American Revolution. After arriving in America in 1776, Kosciuszko joined the Continental Army. As a skilled engineer, he made significant contributions to the war by designing fortifications for several strategic places such as Philadelphia, West Point, and Saratoga. Kosciuszko later returned to Poland to lead his native military in a 1794 uprising. In Detroit, Courtesy of WIkipedia
    Cook County Treasurer Pappas showcases Polish photographer’s first-ever American exhibit and honors Polish American Heritage Month in Chicago
    October 8, 2025
John Kass Columns

Order the book PoweR PR; Ethnic Activists Guide to Strategic Communications

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO RAY HANANIA'S YOUTUBE VIDEOS


Click here to view the video on YouTube or use the widget below.

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Creative Commons License
All works on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

Categories

Copyright © 2022 Suburban Chicagoland & Urban Strategies Group

Powered by PressBook Premium theme