Elmhurst farmers market offers opportunity to donate to Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry

ELMHURST – For the last two decades, Elmhurst residents have welcomed a farmers market to the city-owned parking lot at York and Division streets.

The market, which began June 3 and runs until late October, is a long-standing tradition sponsored by the York and Vallette Business Association, and this year, it brings with it something new: the inclusion of the Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry.

Rev. Matt Parker Wrzeszcz, associate pastor of the Yorkfield Presbyterian Church, said the idea is simple: to provide a place at the market for shoppers, who have supported the farmers, to donate fresh produce to the pantry.

Wrzeszcz and Jackie Lawrence, the food pantry's coordinator, said they typically receive donations of canned fruits and vegetables along with "last-date" sold items that have a shorter shelf-life, and while those do suffice, contributions of fresh fruits and vegetables from the farmers market present an alternative for their clients.

The market is an initiative to support local and regional farmers in Illinois and to create a fresh perspective on grocery shopping for residents. Each year, farmers bring bushels of seasonal fruits and vegetables and other naturally grown products like bread, honey and oils.

Through a careful selection process, business association members Todd Benson and Adam Krzemkowski look for different types of farmers who can rein in that new experience.

"(Farmers markets) are not there to replace supermarkets," Benson said, adding the purpose of the market is not only to thread farmers and residents together but also to provide a platform for the community to come closer together.

Wrzeszcz and Jackie Lawrence said they look forward to continuing to garner more awareness for the pantry, which has been a part of the Elmhurst community since 1983. It started in a small walk-in closet in the basement of Yorkfield Presbyterian Church and only served Elmhurst residents.

It has since expanded to reach about 400 clients every month and help other communities including Addison, Villa Park, Oak Brook, Bensenville, Hillside, Berkeley and Lombard, Lawrence said.

Wrzeszcz said he hopes the pantry's presence at the market will help people know they are there to help their neighbors and their friends.

For Krzemkowski, that cultivates the message he wants Elmhurst residents to know about the farmers market: it is a community effort that strengthens all of them together.

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Know more

For information on the farmers market, visit yorkandvallette.com/Home.aspx. For information on the Elmhurst-Yorkville Food Pantry, visit eyfp.org.