Share The Joy: Rogers Park food pantry serves community for decades

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It's a general store that doesn't cost a thing.

The food pantry at St. Ignatius Church in Rogers Park has been serving its community since the 1970s.

"People lose jobs, people are downsized, you're put on a fixed income," said Kathy Morris, director of Ignatian Services. "This happens no matter where you live in Chicago and food pantries help people who are in need of food."

For those who come to the pantry regularly, it's best described as a "have it your way" type of place.

"I kid you not. You got meat, you got vegetables, you got protein. When you leave here you'll be satisfied," pantry client Tony Robinson said.

Robinson said the food that he gets at the pantry will last him for about a month.

The pantry serves an average of 250 families per month. That's about 3,000 people a year.

But for many people who volunteer at the church, it's about more than just supplying their neighbors with food.

"It's about hope too, it's about compassion, it's about the interactions with people," said Greg Trotter with the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

"You know, we have conversations and the relationships that we build with our clientele is just as important as the food we hand out," Volunteer David Posner added. "In a lot of ways, coming here once a week is the most important thing I do."