Action Love volunteers happily loaded groceries into trunks last year. The event has been postponed until the fall. –Photo by Karen Haave.

By Karen Haave

Construction underway at Firemen’s Park made it impossible to have Love: Monee this year, but there still is good news. Rev. David Short, associate pastor at Second Place Church, said last week that Monee’s Provision Market will open its free food pantry at 5430 W. Main Street in January.

Launched in 2017, Love: Monee is sponsored by Provision Lab, Inc., in collaboration with the Monee Alliances of Churches.

Set in motion by Rev. Short, the event in its inaugural year included  a job fair, health care services, free haircuts, clothing giveaway, and a blood drive, along with a cook out and concert. It was pared down during the COVID-19 pandemic but has been making its way back, focusing on the food distribution.

Las year, families lined up early for the large boxes filled with fresh produce, non-perishables, and dairy products. The popular event just involved too many cars for the drive-up food distribution, Short explained, and the renovation of Firemen’s Park made it impossible this summer.

“It’s 500 cars,” he said of the event, “so we just couldn’t do it.”
According to the numbers gathered after the 2023 Love: Monee, 788 families were served, providing  food for more than, 1700 people. With the assistance of Dot Foods and Sharefest Will County, the group distributed 35 pallets or 42,000 pounds of food.
The January opening of Provision Market will make the transition to  a client-choice pantry, Rev. Short said, so participants will be able to shop for the items they need, just as they would in a grocery store.
Provision Market also is introducing the Northern Illinois Food Bank’s Link2Feed program to make registration quick and easy. (Northern Illinois Food Bank is an independent, non-governmental organization. Information provided by those registering is protected and can only be shared in rare and specific cases. To read the full Link2Feed Consent and Disclaimer form, go to nifb.link2feed.com.)
To register for Provision Market, go to Link2feed@northernilfoodbank.org.