
On a sunny Tuesday in March, Deborah Shirley, a caretaker living in Robbins, took a break from her daily duties to pick up groceries for her and her mother. But, unfortunately for her and her neighbors, there are no quality grocery stores within the city limits.
In addition to living in an area known as a “food desert,” Deborah was working on a tight budget. Instead of trying to stretch her dollars at the closest affordable store, she stopped at Blue Cap Pantry, a food bank serving Blue Island, Robbins and the surrounding communities each and every Tuesday. Housed in a bright, airy warehouse in Blue Cap’s building, the pantry opened last September to bring healthy food options to the region.
“It’s so nice and clean, and everybody is so friendly,” Deborah said as she picked through butternut squash and other produce.
“[My mom] enjoys seeing everything I bring back…You know, it’s kinda rough out here. You gotta go to other towns to get something fresh,” she added, walking to her car. “ I really do appreciate it. Times are really hard, and it’s just a blessing to be able to come here.”
It takes a village to open the pantry doors
The creation of the Blue Cap Pantry illustrates the power of partnerships built through United Way of Metro Chicago’s Neighborhood Network Initiative.
In community meetings, members of the Blue Island-Robbins Neighborhood Network agreed that issues faced by children and families in the area, like poor health and high poverty, were rooted in a lack of access to healthy foods. Creating a pantry would be a critical first step to resolving those problems.
As they began planning, the network members realized it would take a number of partners to make the pantry successful. Blue Cap offered up their space and got approvals to run the pantry, while another partner, the Greater Chicago Food Depository, agreed to provide the food and goods to stock its shelves.
“There’s a lot of food insecurity and poverty in this area,” said Pat Thies, executive director of Blue Cap, a non-profit with robust educational and workforce training programs for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. “The whole network thought [Blue Cap] would be a good location. There’s a school right across the street, so families could bring their kids after they pick them up or stop to get food before.”
Other community partners in the Network began to connect residents to the pantry and set up booths at its entrance to provide information about other services, including elder care, medical assistance and counseling, available to local children and families.
Together, they’re not only helping to silence the growl of hunger in Blue Island and Robbins, but building a stronger, more united community that addresses residents’ various needs.