Food Pantry Eyes New Location on Pyott Road

Updated at 11:00 a.m.

The Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Interfaith Food Pantry is hoping to go from dreary and cramped to cheerful and spacious by trading out its current facility for a pole barn on Pyott Road.

Sal Maggio, the facility manager for the food pantry’s Board of Directors, said he is in support of moving to a 13-acre vacated property at 1111 Pyott Road, known as the Gordon Larsen property.  

The pole barn would double the pantry’s space and could include a re-sale shop with used clothing and furniture for its clients.

But more importantly, those in support of the move say, is the physical environment change the switch could bring.

Maggio envisions kids being able to take fishing poles down to the pantry’s pond while their parent’s shop. He is looking into creating a community garden on the property. The land also includes a stable with horses and apples trees.

“It’s a way to get away from their concerns and issues. No one wants to have to go to a food pantry,” Maggio said.

The pantry would still need an OK from the village of Lake in the Hills and the food pantry’s board before moving ahead with plans at that location, however.

The pantry’s current location at 600 E. Oak St. consists of a metal building that also houses public works vehicles and is flush with issues from a leaky roof to rodents.  The property itself has a gravel driveway and is set close to the road.

“The existing site–it is very exposed and institutional looking,” said the project's architect and Algonquin trustee Jim Steigert, who is working as a volunteer on the project.  “And I’m sure that the people who are in need feel very on display. Those visiting would no longer be visible from the street...it's almost like stepping into a different environment entirely."

Village Helps Out Pantry

The LITH village has owned the Larsen property for the past seven years, said Ed Plaza, village president. He said the village would charge the pantry just $1 to take over the facility if plans to move ahead at that location materialize.

The location was formerly home to Gordon Larsen and his wife, Joann, who have both passed away. Gordon Larsen was a well-known developer and businessman in Lake in the Hills for decades, who helped established the Lake in the Hills Rotary Club and became influential in shaping the village "through volunteer and monetary donations," according to the village's website.

The village of Lake in the Hills also owns the current location on Oak Street and has offered to provide $43,000 to help the pantry, Plaza said.

Representatives from the village and food pantry met in recent weeks to discuss the Larsen property as a possibility. Before that, the pantry had been planning to move forward with a $277,000 refurbishment project at its current Oak Street location.

The Current State of the Food Pantry

Discussions on a possible move are still in preliminary stages and if the current plans for refurbishing at the Oak Street location move forward, Steigert has planned for a reception area and a more spacious layout in the pantry. To view those plans -- and to find information on how to donate or volunteer --visit the pantry's capital campaign web page.

The facility offers a grocery-store-type setting where families in need are able to pick up a certain amount of items based on the size of their family. The food pantry currently serves around 330 families per month. The pantry gets its food from local donations and through the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Maggio said.

Meanwhile, the number of people in need continues to grow. Maggio said in the past nine months, 25 to 30 new clients have come to the pantry for food each month.

If the pantry decides to move to the Pyott Road location, Steigert said he would like to look at including a resale shop —where patrons could donate goods that could be sold—as a possibility.

Fund-Raising Efforts

The pantry has raised around $20,000 so far and has a current goal of reaching $277,000 for the refurbishment project, Maggio said.

While the fund-raising has just begun, small efforts are underway in the community to raise money.

Carol Platt, a volunteer at the pantry, recently organized a that drew a crowd of 160 women and helped raised $3,300 for the pantry.

In recent weeks, Maggio has been meeting with churches to request assistance. As well as monetary help, Maggio is looking for people who can volunteer their time and talents to the project, with everything from knocking down walls to construction efforts to assisting with much-needed marketing and event planning.

He is also looking to area businesses and corporations to help fund the project.

“We have a lot of things in the hopper right now,” Maggio said. “We are looking for support.”