Naperville Sunrise Rotary will collect paper goods and hygiene products for the West Suburban Community Pantry on Nov. 6 outside the Naperville Country Club.
The drive runs from 8 to 10 a.m. at 25W570 Chicago Ave., according to Positively Naperville. Organizers are asking for items that the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, does not cover.
"Most people don't think to donate kitchen and personal items that can be expensive and are not covered by SNAP benefits," said Deb Newman, the Rotary club's community service chair.
Newman said items like paper towels, napkins, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, food storage bags, facial tissue, toilet tissue, soap, shampoo and feminine hygiene products help families stretch their budgets heading into the holidays.
The drive comes as the pantry faces growing demand. The West Suburban Community Pantry, based in Woodridge, serves more than 1,000 households each week across DuPage and Will counties.
The organization is seeing an increase in new families seeking help in recent weeks, according to the Rotary club's announcement.
That need has been building for years. Shaw Local reported Oct. 21 that the pantry logged 51,600 visits last year and provided 3.1 million meals from 3.7 million pounds of food.
CEO Maeven Sipes told attendees at an Oct. 14 open house that demand has tripled since the pantry first opened.
The pantry serves households from Woodridge, Lisle, Bolingbrook and other nearby towns.
Sipes estimated the pantry could use about double its current 12,000 square feet of space across three sites.
The organization is considering an expansion, she said at the open house.
In DuPage County, one in 10 residents can be food insecure, Sipes said in the Shaw Local report.
Residents who cannot make the Nov. 6 collection can drop off items at the West Suburban Community Pantry, 6809 Hobson Valley Drive, Suite 118, in Woodridge, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
