Monee Township officials last week celebrated the opening of a new free food pantry made possible without a tax rate increase.
The pantry is the result of a capital fund and careful saving, along with some help from state Senator Patrick Joyce (D-40th).
Monee Township Supervisor Donna Dettbarn and Joyce cut the ceremonial ribbon to signal the opening of the pantry in the township building at 26121 S. Egyptian Trail.
Fifty to sixty local families are anticipated to be served every month.
“It is really exciting that all of our dreams have come to fruition so that we can help people in need better,” she said during the ribbon cutting.
“I want you to know that we funded both phases of construction without borrowing money. The township saved money into a capital fund so we did not have to borrow and pay high interest rates.
“Senator Patrick Joyce was instrumental in sponsoring a $100,000 grant for the pantry portion, for which we are very grateful.”
There are no income requirements for participants, Dettbarn said later, but the program is geared to residents of Monee, University Park, and the Will County portion of Park Forest.
At the same time, she noted, “If a person feels they need food help other than being a Monee Township resident, we will help them.
“New food pantry recipients do need to register. We register them through the NIFB system which tracks whichever food pantry they go to.
“We allow one visit per month.
“Before COVID-19, we served approximately 5 to 6 families a month. Now we are helping 50 to 60 families a month. With SNAP changes, I expect utilization to go up.”
Donations to the pantry, she continued, are needed and welcome.
“We accept both monetary and food and personal product donations. We have been blessed to have some of our produce growers, like Gorman Farms and Mary Ann Deutsche, donate fresh vegetables. The KENCO Company donates aluminum foil, paper products, garbage bags, etc., and helps year round with our Senior events and Food Baskets at the Holidays.
“We recently received a truckload of personal products from the South Holland Metal Finishing Co. They donate several times a year and ask us in advance what we need the most.
“We accept individual donations from our Plan Commission Chair, Jeff Reiter and family who recently donated dozens of eggs.
“I am thankful for the generosity of so many people and companies. With the increase in usage, I urge everyone to donate as we have to buy retail for items we do not get donated and have to buy.”
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Dettbarn noted that the township has owned and operated a program that provided bags of non-perishable foods for many years.
“We had racks that lined our walls and hallways, and residents had no choice in what was received,” she explained.
“We talked about adding a pantry for years, but we are landlocked and it wasn’t feasible to build up. We tried, but we could not buy adjacent land.y Commissioner David Deutsche said that if we would build an addition of 25 square feet onto the first garage bay, we could renovate the garage bay next to the office area into the pantry. And that is exactly what this board did.
“Construction of the addition to the garage bay was completed in August of 2025
“Then we got serious about turning it into our new pantry, where food-insecure Monee Township residents could come in, get a shopping cart and take only what they wanted.
“We added two commercial refrigerators, and two commercial freezers, and for the first time, have been able to have dairy, frozen food items and meats and fish.
“The township joined the Northern Illinois Food Bank program where we can order food at discounted prices, as well as receive many free items.
“NIFB is also working to find us some grocery stores that we can pick up free food from on a weekly basis.
“It may take us a while to stock up on everything we want to offer and we will probably have to buy retail for some items.”
More information is available at (708) 534-6020. Hours: 8 a.m. – noon, 1 p.m.- 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
In addition to the Monee Township pantry, other local food sources include:
Provision Market: A client-choice “grocery store-style” pantry located at 5430 W. Main St., Monee. It operates on Fridays by appointment only, with registration opening weekly. (708) 792-3034
Micro Pantries: Accessible 24/7 locations where residents can drop off non-perishables or take what they need. Monee locations include the Parks & Recreation building on Court Street, Golf Vista Clubhouse, St. Paul United Church of Christ (708) 534-8471, and Second Place Church (708) 232-7087.
New Hope Community Christian Church, 4700 W Court Street in Monee, offers a free food giveaway on the first Monday of every month. A variety of fresh foods are boxed and loaded directly into your car for convenience. (708) 235-0995 Email: newhopeoffice47@gmail.comJackson Creek Fellowship Church: Located at 25800 S. Center Road, Monee. This location accepts walk-ins for food distribution. (815) 469-0152