The Board and volunteers of the Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry announce that a ceremonial groundbreaking will be held on Tuesday, August 11 at 4 p.m. at the new site on the property of Yorkfield Presbyterian Church, just south of the Butterfield and York Road intersections. The public is invited to attend and bring a paper, cleaning or personal hygiene product for the current pantry. The Elmhurst City Council approved the zoning variance at its July 20 meeting; the building permit was issued July 22nd.
EYFP is excited to share that in just 15 months it secured commitments of $750,000 towards its total $875,000 goal. The total includes two matching gifts, $100,000 from Thing 1●2●3 Foundation for gifts from businesses and community groups and $50,000 from Elmhurst Presbyterian Church for gifts given through faith communities. Each grant matched $1.00 for each $2.00 from donors. Matching funds remain available from Thing 1●2●3 Foundation and active fundraising continues to achieve the entire goal. EPC awarded the project the full match on June 6.
In mid-March the Food Pantry debuted a new website, www.eyfp.org, donated by Olive Street Design in Villa Park, and the Capital Campaign is a grateful recipient of a $15,000 gift from the Elmhurst 100+ Women Who Care and a $10,000 “Raise the Paddle” event from the Rotary Club of Elmhurst’s Derby Day event.
During the 15 months of the capital campaign, EYFP’s story of more than 30 years of service was presented to many audiences leading to its success in engaging donors. The project and the organization were generously profiled in a series of four articles in the Elmhurst Independent and representatives made presentations to many individuals and organizations as it makes progress on its ambitious goal.
More than 4,000 families came through the door in 2014, a single year increase of 10 percent. The proposed facility is fundamentally important to EYFP’s ability to meet the growing need within the eight communities in its service region: Addison, Bensenville, Elmhurst, Lombard, Oak Brook and Villa Park in DuPage County and Berkeley and Hillside in Cook County. The Pantry processed and distributed approximately 260,000 lbs. of fresh and nonperishable food to meet the needs of hungry neighbors.
Questions may be directed to Larry Studer, Capital Campaign Committee, at (630) 229-1929 or eyfp@eyfp.org or Lea Ann Skogsberg, Capital Campaign Counsel at (630) 292-7617 or DollarsandSense4You@msn.com or post a comment on EYFP’s Facebook page.