Sue and Hasu Gandhi named Service Above Self recipients

LIBERTYVILLE – Libertyville Sunrise Rotary recently presented the club’s 2021 Service Above Self award to Sue and Hasu Gandhi, owners of Sue’s Pantry in Vernon Hills.

Sue’s Pantry has provided meals for homeless families throughout parts of Lake and Cook counties for the past 12 years.

“Service Above Self” is the Rotary International motto. The award is given by local chapters to those whose work in the community reflects the spirit of Service Above Self even if the recipients are not Rotarians at the time they earn the award.

In 2008, Sue and Hasu Gandhi both lost corporate jobs in the economic downturn. Seeing an unfilled need to help the homeless, Sue chose not to return to the corporate world. She filled the gap by cooking and serving meals to the homeless, all with Hasu’s support.

Over time, their passion evolved into providing food and household necessities to those in need with their garage serving as a “shopping center” for individuals and groups needing assistance. Thus Sue’s Pantry was born.

The Vernon Hills organization now serves about 200 families weekly.

In addition to food and household goods, Sue’s Pantry provides rent, bus passes, schoolbooks and insurance payments as crises develop.

The Gandhis estimate about $15,000 from small donations and their own savings have kept Sue’s Pantry actively serving those in need. On average, the Gandhis spend 35 to 40 hours a week operating Sue’s Pantry.

“We’ve been blessed to be on this earth as a human being, and it is our moral responsibility to help those around us,” the Gandhis said.

It is their plan to further their work by applying for a 501(c)(3) designation for Sue’s Pantry as a nonprofit organization.

About half of the food and supplies are picked up by those in need in person at Sue’s Pantry while the other half is delivered by volunteers. Every week, four or five volunteers carry carloads of food and supplies to individuals and distribution points in local communities including Waukegan, Round Lake, Wheeling and Palatine.

Some of the larger distribution points include the Mormon church in Gages Lake, DLB Safe Haven in Waukegan and ICNA Relief in Rogers Park.

In addition to Sue and Hasu’s efforts, volunteers from a group called Community Keepers help Sue’s Pantry by picking up donated food from Costco, Jewel and Trader Joe’s for distribution at the pantry.

The 2021 Service Above Self award was presented at the final business meeting presided by Tom Zengeler.

“I firmly believe recognizing other folks in the community who share Rotary International’s values is important for our local chapter,” said Zengeler, now a past president of Libertyville Sunrise Rotary. “One of the goals I established when becoming president was recommitting to presenting the Service Above Self award, and we could not have had a better qualified duo than Sue and Hasu Gandhi to receive the award. Congratulations to them and everyone else who helps make Sue’s Pantry a success.”