West Suburban Community Pantry to dish up wellness event

West Suburban Community Pantry will present “Spring Into Wellness,” featuring family fun with food and fitness from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. March 29 at the pantry, 6809 Hobson Valley Drive, Suite 118, Woodridge.

The free program includes light fitness activities for adults and children, as well as cooking demonstrations and tastes of skillet penne with vegetables and pineapple blueberry smoothies, a news release stated. Participants will be invited to create a wellness journal, with all materials provided. Giveaways include free recipe bags with ingredients, reusable water bottles and other items.

“Spring Into Wellness” is part of the pantry’s expanded Thrive Beyond Food initiative, designed to provide a holistic approach to supporting customers’ overall well-being through good nutrition, plus housing and health-care resources, transportation access, financial literacy education, job readiness training and other community resources. Support staff provide strategies, programs, resources and one-on-one counseling to help customers and their families overcome challenges and thrive.

“We recognize that there’s a hierarchy of needs, and after we address the most immediate need for healthy food, we work to connect clients with additional information and resources to improve their quality of life,” Director of Support Services Kristin Jachymiak stated in the release. “This wellness event is a free opportunity for our customers to learn about – and actively participate in – healthy living. It is also a morning that families can spend together during spring break to have fun and to socialize.”

“Spring Into Wellness” is presented by West Suburban Community Pantry in cooperation with Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital and University of Illinois Extension. Participants should register by March 24 by calling 630-948-8136 or emailing kjachymiak@wscpantry.org.

Serving more than 6,800 individuals each month, WSCP is integral to helping low-income neighbors in DuPage and Will counties receive the nutrition they need to lead full lives. WSCP is working to break down barriers to food assistance, implementing innovative new services to best help people – and ultimately realize the vision of a community without hunger.

In addition to the on-site Pantry Store in Woodridge, WSCP offers a virtual food pantry facilitating online orders, and has multiple remote delivery sites across the region. In addition, WSCP works with many area schools and has instituted the region’s first in-school pantry to serve families in a Romeoville elementary school where 80% of children are eligible for free or reduced fee lunch. WSCP also provides home delivery for home-bound seniors. The pantry collaborates with area agencies to offer a wide range of free programs designed to improve client families’ quality of life. For information, visit wscpantry.org.