April 18, 2025
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Moving up? IV Food Pantry in La Salle seeks bigger headquarters

Needed: 6,000 square feet for walk-in coolers, freezers

By Tom Collins
Got a commercial building you'd like to lease or sell? Then call the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, which needs more refrigeration-freezer space in a hurry. Joe Paolinelli (left) and Lupe Covarrubias delivered a deep chest freezer, donated by John's Service & Sales, to alleviate the crunch, but the pantry needs 6,000 square feet of commercial space for climate-controlled, walk-in storage.

Got a commercial building you'd like to lease or sell? Then call the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, which needs more refrigeration-freezer space in a hurry. Joe Paolinelli (left) and Lupe Covarrubias delivered a deep chest freezer, donated by John's Service & Sales, to alleviate the crunch, but the pantry needs 6,000 square feet of commercial space for climate-controlled, walk-in storage. (Tom Collins)

Got a big commercial building available for rent or purchase? Then call the Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle. They need new headquarters – and fast.

Monday, the head of the IV Food Pantry issued a red alert for new property. Mary Jo Credi, executive director, said the pantry had a longstanding arrangement with a third-party to provide refrigeration and freezing. Due to unforeseen circumstances, that arrangement came to an abrupt halt.

“We have not stopped taking food donations,” Credi said. “But with perishables, we are limited. Monetary donations are better so that I can purchase and store what we need.”

Credi would not identify the outside party that can no longer provide climate-controlled storage – she’s too grateful for their service to call unfavorable attention – but she did say it wasn’t St. Margaret’s Health, which just closed the former Illinois Valley Community Hospital.

A little help has already come in. John’s Service and Sales in Oglesby caught wind of the shortage and delivered, free of charge, a deep freezer measuring 22 cubic feet.

Lupe Covarrubias (left) and Joe Paolinelli from John's Service and Sales delivered Monday a deep chest freezer to Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle. The pantry has an urgent need for refrigerator and freezer space now that a third-party provider can no longer help. The donation from John's is a good short-term solution but the pantry needs larger quarters and storage space.

Lupe Covarrubias (left) and Joe Paolinelli from John's Service and Sales delivered Monday a deep chest freezer to Illinois Valley Food Pantry in La Salle. The pantry has an urgent need for refrigerator and freezer space now that a third-party provider can no longer help. The donation from John's is a good short-term solution but the pantry needs larger quarters and storage space. (Tom Collins)

“John’s is always eager to help our community out,” said Don Finley, vice president of store operations.

Meanwhile, some of the businesses and fraternal organizations that support the pantry have contacted Credi, offering to clear some space in their walk-ins for her storage needs. Credi has had to politely turn down those offers.

“I’m grateful,” Credi said, “but because of the amount of food we have, putting a little here and a little there is not going to help us.”

The long-term solution is to find a commercial property that has walk-in coolers and freezers or at least has the space and electrical capacity to house them. Office space is a requirement, too.

The pantry’s location on Wright Street in downtown La Salle is 4,500 square feet and Credi said they’ll need a minimum 6,000 square feet.

Credi said the space crunch is becoming urgent, though they can juggle their operations until they identify a new building.

The Illinois Valley Food Pantry was grateful when John's Service and Sales donated a large (22 cubic feet) chest freezer -- being installed Monday by John's employees Joe Paolinelli (left) and Lupe Covarrubias -- but pantry officials are actively seeking a larger building with walk-in coolers and freezers.

The Illinois Valley Food Pantry was grateful when John's Service and Sales donated a large (22 cubic feet) chest freezer -- being installed Monday by John's employees Joe Paolinelli (left) and Lupe Covarrubias -- but pantry officials are actively seeking a larger building with walk-in coolers and freezers. (Tom Collins)