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Sophie’s Diary – December 7, 2017
Lööf Foundation continues to support the Elmhurst Yorkfield Food pantry, outside of Chicago, USA. On Dec 7, we were very happy to return to Elmhurst Yorkfield Food Pantry to follow up and continue our support! Their new fantastic building is now up and running, and it has truly turned into an amazing store for those in need. The old building was a little difficult to work in, as the storage was not connected to the store. The new building is very thought through, as it all flows very well now! They managed to raise USD 900 000:- for the building and a local church donated the land. The food pantry is 2 500 square feet and now only one level and very accessible for all people including wheelchairs.
The food pantry is open for those in need from seven different communities around the area. Every month they feed around 505 households which is approx. 2 500 – 3 000 people. Of these people, 25% are children under 12 years old. Once a month they visit a retirement home to give support as well. Of the food that is supplied, 80% comes from donations from supermarkets, manufacturers and private donors in the area. The other 20% of the food is bought with donated money. They now have a nutritionist coming on a regular basis to give support to the food pantry customers. She writes nutritious recipes and teaches the food pantry customers how to cook. For thanksgiving the food pantry gave out 267 turkey dinners to the people most in need. I spoke with a family who received a turkey from the food pantry, they expressed how blessed they felt that they could celebrate thanksgiving with a turkey this year. For Christmas they will support with approximately 200 hams.
Throughout the month the food pantry has 400 fantastic volunteers that help to run the food pantry. When the goods arrive they all must be weighed and reported to the IRS. They then get put on the shelves for the people most in need. The people can “shop” once a month and many of the clients that I spoke to told me that this is the only food that they have for the month. They never know what foods they will have on the shelves, so everyone is just happy to get what is available. No one comes with a shopping list to ask for specific items or complains about the selection available.
The Lööf Foundation together with a team from Partex USA branch donated and did great work together at the food pantry this Thursday afternoon, it was such a great experience to share this special moment together – giving to others. When we contacted the food pantry and asked what goods they were most in need of they told us hygiene products. When you do not have sufficient funds, it is mostly hygiene products that you do not buy.
We supported with the following items:
– 50 soaps
– 50 deodorants
– 24 tooth brushes
– 25 toothpaste
– 50 liquid laundry detergent
– 25 dishwashing detergent
– 25 all purpose cleaner
– 25 shampoos and conditioner
– 25 antibacterial hand soap
In total there were 299 items with a value of USD 1006.85:-. Thank you Barbara Susmilch at Partex US Branch for helping to get all these items together, and thank you Partex team for contributing!! Also, a warm thank you to Larry Studer at the Food pantry for such a warm welcome and for a great tour around the new food pantry, well done!! I feel so happy that we could return and contribute at the food pantry again, my heart feels so warm when I think about the great work that they do. I also feel very sorry that there is a need for such basic needs in a rich country such as the US.
Each time I engage in these projects, it makes me realize how grateful I am for the things that we have. Often, we usually take these things for granted but at the same time I feel sorrow for all the people suffering around the world. We atz<a Lööf Foundation try to help but we only do very little when the need is so big, but at least we are making an effort and trying our best.
If you want to help us give help around the world, please let us know! In Sweden you can contribute to us via swish, 1236931562 or BG 324-3565, please mark your donation with “donation + your name”. For international transfer please contact me: sophie@nordfasinvest.se or morgan@nordfasinvest.se Thank you!
Sophie Lööf
Founder & Chairman Lööf Foundation
