When leadership at St. Sabina Church heard that the food pantry around the corner was closing after more than a decade, they knew they had to step in and save it.
The pantry, at 1120 W. 79th St. in Auburn Gresham, was run by Catholic Charities, but because of rising costs, the organization made the decision to close a few locations.
The Rev. Michael Pfleger, the pastor at St. Sabina, said the church often worked with the food pantry and knew how much people in the community depended on it.
“We needed to step in and take it over ourselves,” Pfleger said. “It’s been a walk of faith for sure because opening it is like starting a business, but we’re going to try and be here as a resource for the people that depend on that pantry.”
The pantry served nearly 900 people a month, Pfleger said.
Catholic Charities closed the pantry Sept. 30. After a few upgrades, reorganizing and a fresh coat of paint, the pantry will open Tuesday as the St. Sabina Social Service Center.
“We didn’t want too long of a gap in reopening,” Pfleger said. “We have people come by almost every day trying to get food, but they’ve had to wait until we were ready.”
The pantry will not only provide food but will also offer clothing, counseling and case management services.
Pfleger said the pantry would have a handful of full-time staff as well as several volunteers present throughout the week.
The pantry will be stocked with the help of the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Community members will be able to come in, grab a cart and shop for what they need.
“A lot of times pantries just hand over a bag with food, but sometimes they don’t like what’s inside,” Pfleger said. “Here, they can go down the aisles to pick what they want just like how they would at a Jewel or a Mariano’s.”
Pfleger said the hope is to expand the pantry to offer more services and to be able to hire more staff, but that would require more donations.
“We’re going to be there for the long term, but we’re going to need support so we can serve as many people as possible,” he said.
The pantry will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.