Watch: Inside Loaves & Fishes, Naperville’s 40-Year Food Pantry, with Nancy Wiersum

In this Living in Naperville episode, host Dan Firks, a longtime Loaves & Fishes volunteer, tours Naperville’s local food pantry and talks with Nancy Wiersum about the organization’s 40-year history, how it sources food for the roughly 10,000 people it serves each week, and its Cares programs that go beyond food.

Read the full guide to Loaves & Fishes in Naperville →

Video Transcript

Dan Firks: Hello and welcome to this episode of Living in Naperville. I’m Dan Firks, and today I have the pleasure of meeting Nancy Wiersum here at Loaves and Fishes. I’m super excited to find out what Naperville’s local food pantry is all about. Let’s go check it out. So Nancy, tell me, how long has Loaves and Fishes been here in Naperville?

Nancy Wiersum: Well Dan, this is our 40th anniversary this year, so 40 years serving Naperville. We began in a church in Naperville with just eight families that first year.

Dan Firks: Eight families?

Nancy Wiersum: Eight families. And as you know, now we’re serving between 9 and 10,000 people a week.

Dan Firks: Did I hear that right? Almost 10,000 people a week?

Nancy Wiersum: Yes. And along the way, the community was right with us as we grew. We left the church property and we were on Fifth Avenue for a while, and then we opened the Naperville building in 2011, and then two and a half years ago we had to expand and open our Food Distribution Hub in Aurora, about a mile away.

Dan Firks: And we’re going to go check that out later. But I remember, I’ve been volunteering here at Loaves and Fishes going on 12 years now, and I actually started, Nancy, when we were on Fifth Avenue behind the high school, in that little strip mall.

Nancy Wiersum: Yes, and you are a volunteer extraordinaire, Dan, let me tell you that. We so appreciate it.

Dan Firks: And I love Loaves and Fishes, it’s just an amazing community.

Nancy Wiersum: Loaves and Fishes loves him. Yes, we’re a great team.

Dan Firks: So Nancy, tell me, what foods are in high demand here at Loaves and Fishes?

Nancy Wiersum: Well, one of the hallmarks of Loaves and Fishes is that we really work hard to serve healthy food. And not only is it healthier for our clients, but we have surveyed our clients and that’s what they want. So milk, eggs, lean proteins, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. All those things make a healthy diet, so we’re very focused on healthy foods, and that is what our clients want.

Nancy Wiersum: So this is where we keep the milk and eggs, and on this side they’re loading them in, and on the other side, as you see, a volunteer is taking it to put out for our client, who’s on the other side of the window, just like a regular Jewel grocery store. They come in and grab their items right out of the cooler. And yes, it’s cold in here!

Dan Firks: So tell me, how does Loaves and Fishes source their food?

Nancy Wiersum: Well Dan, it comes from a variety of places. About 40% comes from our grocery partners, we call that food rescue. We get some from the government, and other sources. There’s a little that we purchase from the Northern Illinois Food Bank, and we purchase food from other local sources, and we always try to work with them so we get the best price possible. And then people contribute. One of the challenges we’ve had is that we’ve seen a rapid rise in the number of people needing help, so it’s gradually crept up in the last couple of years, and as I mentioned, we’re serving between 9 and 10,000 people a week, but the food supply has not kept pace with that demand. So we’re doing everything possible. We actually put together a food supply task force to try to literally leave no stone unturned, so we’re talking to suppliers, manufacturers, and anybody associated with a food supply company, to try to get more sources for food at a reasonable price, or free.

Dan Firks: And can the community drop food off?

Nancy Wiersum: Yes, absolutely, we hope they do, especially in the summer when everyone has these beautiful gardens.

Dan Firks: So here in Naperville, where would people drop off?

Nancy Wiersum: They can bring it here to the Naperville building, and that address is below. What’s so beautiful about homegrown garden vegetables is they haven’t been riding in a truck for a few days or sitting in a grocery store. That is as fresh as you can get, and we just love it.

Dan Firks: So any resident could take it right out of their garden that they’re planting and harvesting and bring it on over if they have extra.

Nancy Wiersum: Absolutely. We hope they will.

Dan Firks: That sounds great. So Nancy, tell me, how do individuals and families get access to the food pantry?

Nancy Wiersum: Well Dan, first of all, they need to live in our four-county area of service, so DuPage, Kane, Kendall, or Will counties. It’s primarily by residents. And if they come for food, they will register. They get a little card with their own code on it, so that each time they don’t have to go through everything. And then we also have programs for self-sufficiency, we call those our Cares Programs. So for example, we will give someone assistance for rent, actually pay their rent, a one-time rental payment. Our goal is to prevent evictions, because that’s a terrible downward spiral, so we want to prevent homelessness. We also give emergency assistance for utilities, and then we have a car donation program. We get people connected to all the public benefits they may qualify for. So our goal is not only help for today with food, but we hope then they don’t need us in the future.

Dan Firks: I think that’s amazing, that it’s not just about food here at Loaves and Fishes, it’s also about assistance with, like you said, with cars, with rent. I mean, above and beyond, in my opinion.

Nancy Wiersum: It’s a distinguishing factor of what we do. We’re looking at the long term for our clients.

Dan Firks: Nancy, I’d really have to say, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for letting us come into Loaves and Fishes and take a look at your facility and how Loaves and Fishes serves our community. What you do, you guys go above and beyond. You blew me away when you were talking about how it’s not just about the food, it’s about helping those who need more than just food, whether they’re needing housing or help with their car payment. You guys never stop giving. So thank you.

Nancy Wiersum: Thank you, Dan. Thank you for volunteering, and thank you for helping to share our message with the community.

Dan Firks: Absolutely. Thank you for watching this episode of Living in Naperville. Be sure to like and subscribe to get updates on our next episode, and for all your real estate needs, please visit Naperville.com.

Read the full guide to Loaves & Fishes in Naperville →