07/23/2024
To the West Bluff Award Committee:
Over 40 years ago, the St. Mark Food Pantry was founded at St. Mark Church after Pabst Brewing Company shuttered their operations in Peoria Heights in 1982. The closure left hundreds of brewery workers unemployed at a time when the economy was already in recession. Local UAW workers would soon face a brutal 7-month strike lasting into 1983 as Caterpillar began taking extensive cost-cutting measures involving office staff.
The pantry was started by West Bluff residents and St. Mark parishioners, Wilma & John Ciabattoni, in the garage of St. Mark Church at 1113 W. Bradley Ave. After outgrowing this space in three years due to increasing demand, the Ciabattonis and their friends at Westminster Presbyterian Church at 1420 W. Moss Ave. decided to combine resources and form the WestMark Food Pantry. The new endeavor began operating from the basement level of Westminster’s Parish Hall, which offered plenty of climate-controlled space for rack storage, grocery assembly areas, and a multitude of badly needed refrigerators and freezers.
Since its inception, the pantry has provided food and sustenance to many thousands of families in the Greater Peoria Area. Managed by a dedicated group of more than 25 volunteers, many of whom are current and former West Bluff residents, WestMark has grown to become one of the larger food pantries in Peoria County. Each month, the pantry provides supplemental food that helps feed approximately 1500 adults and 500 children.
Food is distributed at our drive-thru every Monday morning from 9 to 11 am. Cars often begin lining up before 8 am and patiently wait as volunteers are setting up food racks and tables at the drive-thru. Each of the grocery bags, stacked 24 to a rack, represents one family.
During the winter, volunteers often have to cope with challenging weather conditions while working outdoors for over two hours.
• Currently 100 needy families, who vary week to week, each receive a large bag of groceries (dry and canned goods) as well as a bag of frozen foods with meat, plus eggs donated by a local supplier.
• Fresh produce is purchased from Haddad’s Market as well as fresh leftovers donated by the Riverfront Farmers Market, in season.
• Food supplies come from Midwest Food Bank, Peoria Area Food Bank and direct purchase from local grocery stores. Also, Heart of Illinois Harvest drops off surplus breads and pastries at distribution time each Monday.
• Funding comes from both St. Mark and Westminster churches as well as contributions from various businesses and associations. We also have a list of charitable individuals in the area who donate money regularly, as well as transplants as far away as California.
• It cannot be emphasized enough that this is an all-volunteer operation, some of whom have been helping for more than 20 years. To prepare for each Monday, pantry volunteers work Saturday mornings assembling grocery bags.
Volunteers also work Tuesday and Wednesday mornings picking up food, unloading deliveries, and restocking our shelves, refrigerators and freezers. There are also deliveries made on two Thursdays each month. All of this requires ongoing dedication and coordination.
The mountain of cardboard the pantry generates each week is hauled to a recycler in Mossville.
During the school year, WestMark draws on student help from Bradley fraternities and St. Mark Middle School. This relationship helps build a better understanding of community and promotes volunteerism. Here, St. Mark students load food into cars for two hours before working downstairs for an hour restocking shelves.
It's important to note that pantry users represent a cross section of Peoria. Many of them are working families whose budgets have been overstressed by rising costs for rent, food, auto insurance, gasoline, and utilities. Some are veterans struggling with life. Others are seniors on fixed incomes. Still others have limited work opportunities due to health issues. All of them are extremely polite to our volunteers and greatly appreciative of WestMark and the impact the food pantry has on their lives.
We consider WestMark Food Pantry a bastion of Peoria's vibrant, service-minded community. Our nomination does not seek acclaim for individuals, but recognition of the collaborative efforts of people who have served those in need for more than 40 years. Collectively, the WestMark Food Pantry has become a Pillar of the West Bluff!
Respectfully submitted,
The Moss Bradley Residential Association Board of Directors
