Union Trades Help Build New Food Pantry
Retirees and Business Representatives from the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, Painters District Council, and I.B.E.W. Local 134 have been working together rehabbing an old bar in Des Plaines and turning it into a new community food pantry.
The new Self-Help Closet & Food Pantry will provide a much larger space for the Des Plaines community to keep up with demand brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The city’s current community food pantry is very small with little parking and has been serving up to 350 people per month, said Bill Schoenberg, the pantry’s secretary.
The work on the new facility is all voluntary with material donations coming from the unions.
“This project really helps fulfill a community need,†said Greg Czajka, Business Representative for Carpenters Local 58 who helped spearhead the project along with Des Plaines Alderman and Local 134 Business Representative Colt Moylan. “Union carpenters are always looking for opportunities to help give back to our communities and it’s great to see how this project came together with the help of our fellow union building trades.â€
The Self-Help Closet & Pantry has served Des Plaines residents in need by providing food and clothing since 1971. Its new location, 769 Holiday Road, is expected to open in October.
For more information check them out on Facebook @desplainesfoodpantry
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