What is donated here, stays here.

What is donated here, stays here.

What is donated here., stays here.

OUR CORE VALUES

To serve our clients with respect and dignity,

To provide quality food for balanced meals,

To be accountable to our donors,

To engage volunteers, and

To educate the community regarding hunger issues.

From Our Chief Executive Officer

The Rock River Valley Pantry (RRVP) continues to serve the community, providing emergency food to those in the community that would otherwise go hungry. To accomplish this:

  • We continue to seek out and acquire the resources needed to serve our clients.
  • We provide food that results in a balanced diet, enough for four days for each member of the receiving household.
  • We use our current partnerships and always seek new partnerships to help us maintain the food supplies necessary to serve our clients.

Our community of donors deserves our thanks and every dollar truly makes a difference in our ability to accomplish our mission. In addition to the monetary donations that allow us to purchase needed food items we have a valued relationship with many of the grocery and specialty stores in this community. Daily, these stores set aside food items, all usable, that the Pantry rescues and passes on to our clients.

Likewise, the volunteers that support the Pantry deserve our thanks. They provide 14,000 hours of essential labor every year, sorting donations and rescued foods, stocking shelves in our choice pantry, and assembling the foods that are distributed at our satellite pantry. They serve as shoppers in our choice area and registrars in our intake lobby. They know the hunger issues in our community and serve as advocating voices.

If you have questions about our operation you may call us, Monday through Friday, between 8:00am and 4:00pm at 815-965-2466.

CEO

Mission Statement

The Rock River Valley Pantry fights hunger in the community by providing nutritious food to those in urgent need.

Our History

The Rock River Valley Pantry was established as a non-profit in 1976 and was given 501c3 status in 1977. We started small, serving about 125 households a month from a downtown location with the help of a small number of volunteers. Those who needed the Pantry services could use them four times a year.

  • Today the RRVP is the largest community-based food pantry in Northern Illinois, distributing needed food from two locations five days a week.
  • We provide more than a million pounds of food each year to those in our community who would otherwise go hungry.
  • About 125 volunteers help us achieve our mission each week.
  • Thanks to the help of Master Gardeners we have a 32-bed organic garden that provides more than a ton of fresh produce each year for our clients.

“No one has ever become poor by giving.”

Anne Frank

Our Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors consists of volunteer members who meet monthly. As volunteers, they receive no compensation for serving, yet serve actively on the following committees: Finance, Fundraising, Client Services, Marketing, Endowment and Governance.

Tiffany Bates State of IL, DOC
Gabby Bauch RSM US LLP
Jon Bauch Martin Automatic
Ken Buss Retired, YMCA of the USA
Dave Denowh Vecima Networks Corp
Sean Grennan Treasurer, Wipfli LLC
Rick Holm Retired, Woodward
Jenny Howell 2nd Vice President, Furst Staffing
Colin Hurka MC Products
Fred Lierman Retired, Technical Writer
Lori Mack Rock Valley College
Larry Rowlett IBEW Local 364
Dorice Royce Retired R.N.
Amy Sola Associated Bank
Reggie Tillmon 1st Vice President Retired, Woodward Inc.
Kathy Walls Retired, Educator / US Army
Ron Welte President, Retired, Com Ed