Grundy County micro pantries aren’t perfect, but fill food gaps

Jeff Eberhard of Morris said he occasionally hears negative stories about micro pantries, including vandalism or people taking more food than they need.

But he said he thinks those instances are rare.

“But honestly, for the most part it’s not bad,” Eberhard said.

For instance, Brent Newman, CEO for the Grundy County Housing Authority, said he is not aware of any problems with the micro food pantry at Saratoga Tower apartments in Morris.

“It just has to be stocked really fast,” Newman said. “We’ve not really had any vandalism. The micro panties are really set up to be just self-run. People take what they need, and people leave what they can.”

We’ve watched people take a can of soup and some crackers and leave everything else in there. And they have nothing.”

—  Jeff Eberhard, owner of E-Z Auto Sales in Joliet and founder of the local micro pantry movement

Eberhard said he feels the need for micro food pantries is rising.

“The hard part, though, is that if you have more of them out there, you need more people to watch over them,” he said.

Eberhard and his team at E-Z Auto Sales in Joliet started the area micro pantry movement seven years ago by building more than 90% of them. The remaining 10% download Eberhard’s plans and build their own, he said.

The idea is that once people install them, they also will shepherd them, he said. The micro food pantries are intended for emergency use only. People can stock them or take what they need, all anonymously, he said.

“There’s always going to be people who never sign up, who never go to the food pantry or don’t want to fill something out or have to ask,” Eberhard said.

He said installing micro pantries in well-lit, heavily trafficked areas helps prevent vandalism. Eberhard said he’s never had any trouble with the micro pantry near E-Z Auto, which he owns.

Instead, Eberhard pointed to the benefits: filling in gaps of need and giving people an opportunity to give.

The micro food pantries also help when people who do go to the food pantry start to run out of food, he said. Overall, people aren’t “greedy” when using them, he said.

“We’ve watched people take a can of soup and some crackers and leave everything else in there,” Eberhard said. “And they have nothing.”

Eberhard said the micro food pantries also provide opportunities for the community to give. Anyone concerned about people taking advantage of the food pantries doesn’t have to fill them, he said.

“People are pretty darned good [at] helping,” Eberhard said. “They pick up a few things when they go to the stores with their kids to help fill the need.”