fbpx

What We Do

PROGRAMS WE OFFER

The Aurora Food Pantry is committed to providing nutritious food relief to the community in a humanitarian and compassionate manner. When surveyed, 99% of clients reported that they were satisfied with the food they received and 93% reported that the food helped their families improve their overall health.

Through client choice, our neighbors can select the food that best meet their needs. The number of items a client receives is determined by the size of their family and the stock available. By offering choice, less food goes to waste, clients can better plan meals for their family’s needs, and we are able to serve our community with dignity and compassion.

Image of woman holding a child and looking into fridge.

Food Distribution Programs

Weekly Distributions – We believe access to fresh, nutritious food is everyone’s right.  While most pantries allow neighbors to visit every other week or once a month, people may visit the Aurora Food Pantry once a week. 

Pantry To-Go – Many people have struggled with health or transportation issues that rendered them unable to visit the pantry. This program is designed to help get a box of food to supplement our neighbors who are unable to come to the pantry. 

Pet Pantry – Through our monthly pet pantry we are able to provide emergency and long-term pet food assistance to those in need. We want to make sure loving pets can stay with their families.

Community ClosetThe Closet was created to help our neighbors in Aurora and the surrounding communities. We help families facing emergencies and families that are also facing a short-term financial struggle. We take gently used clothing that members of our community are done with and pass them onto members of our community that are in need.

Mobile Pantry Programs

Kids’ Pop-Up Pantry – The Aurora Food Pantry, in collaboration with Blessing in A Backpack, host a monthly pop-up pantry. Each pop-up serves 200 families on a first-come, first-served basis and no registration is required. Items distributed include family and kid-friendly foods along with school supplies and toiletries when available. If you would like to sponsor a pop up pantry, please email karko@aurorafoodpantry.org.

Senior & Low Income Pop-Up Pantry – The Aurora Food Pantry host pop-up pantries at senior living centers, supportive living and low-income apartment complexes throughout the surrounding areas. Designed to support people who are either on fixed or extremely low income, we distribute to them fresh produce and other healthy options. 

Hesed House LIGHTHouse Pop-UP Pantry – In partnership with Hesed House LIGHTHouse program, we provide weekly groceries to residents who have transitioned out of Hesed House to apartments at two locations in Aurora. 

Text-4-Food – In response to the need for emergency food assistance, neighbors can text “food” to our emergency hotline where they will be connected to a staff member. Staff will prepare groceries to be delivered and connect anyone who texted the number to additional resources they may need.

Jefferson Middle Pop-Up Pantry – Piloting the program at this middle school, students are provided kid-friendly foods for the weekends and long breaks.

Food Rescue Program

Food waste is a huge problem in the United States. According to the Department of Agriculture, 33 million tons of perfectly edible food ends up in landfills each year – that’s 40% of all the food produced in the United States!

To help correct this unsustainable situation, Aurora Food Pantry has greatly expanded its food rescue operation over the last several years. Each week, we make more than 40 trips to retrieve perfectly edible food, donated by grocery stores, food wholesalers and local farmers. The items we get through food rescue are mostly fresh foods that we don’t receive through traditional food drives, such as meat, dairy, eggs, produce and bread.

Community Partnerships

Hunger is but one aspect of poverty. Therefore, we proudly partner with a wide variety of community organizations that are on-site several times a month to help enrich and improve the lives of our neighbors.