Amid record need in 2025, the Rochelle Christian Food Pantry at 770 Lincoln Ave. also saw record donor support in that calendar year, RCFP Board President Cal Jacobs said Feb. 4.

The food pantry is open Tuesdays and Fridays from 12:30-3:30 p.m. People can either pick up boxes or come in and do their own shopping. On distribution days, cars are often lined up as early as 9 a.m. and occasionally distribution starts early to serve the recently increased number of people in time.

“In 2025 we had 7,813 client visits, which is an all-time record,” Jacobs said. “That’s over 2,000 more than 2023 and 500 more than 2024. We still have up and down days, but the overall is still all up. Significantly. If we didn’t see the donations we did in 2025 from businesses, organizations, churches and individuals, we would not have been able to meet the need.”

RCFP hit a daily record in late January with 116 clients served in a day. In recent years before need rose, serving 50 clients was a high-traffic day.

Total expenses for the food pantry in 2025 were $132,000. Food costs at the facility have gone up significantly, RCFP Board Secretary Kathy Olson said. One dollar used to buy $8 worth of food from the Northern Illinois Food Bank, but that has been “more limited” recently, causing RCFP to have to buy more food on its own with reserve funds.

Jacobs and Olson credited longtime food pantry volunteer Jennie O’Rorke for her efforts to build a network of people, businesses and organizations in the region that donate food when they can.

“We’re lucky that a lot of the bigger businesses in the community bring in a lot of food,” Olson said. “We have truckers that bring in food that they aren’t able to move. We get a lot of big donations that way. On some level, God provides. When we start getting low on something, every time, somehow, something comes through.”

Each Tuesday and Friday, at least 16 volunteers are required to staff the food pantry. Jacobs said with the exception of one or two days, the facility was fully staffed with volunteers throughout 2025.

Olson called RCFP’s volunteers, some longtime and some new, “incredible”. Jacobs said the food pantry has been able to replace volunteers that have left along the way.

“The people that come through here are so appreciative of what we’re doing for them,” Olson said. “When you volunteer, you leave with a really good feeling. I think that’s what keeps a lot of people coming back. Because they know they’re really making a difference. Some kid or elderly person isn’t going to go hungry because of their work.”

Jacobs, Olson and RCFP’s board thanked the facility’s landlord, Dave Tess, for his support of the food pantry.

“If it wasn’t for this facility and where it is, we would not be able to serve all the clients that we get,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs called the help seen in 2025 at RCFP amid high need “another tale in the story of Rochelle.” He thanked the community for its generosity and said the food pantry feels supported by the people of Rochelle.

Olson said that due to the support it has seen, RCFP hasn’t seen a critical need that would require it to reach out to the community. But if that were to ever be the case, RCFP is “100 percent confident the community would come through,” she said.

People that are interested in donating to or volunteering at the food pantry can call RCFP at (815) 562-6654 or stop by during distribution hours. RCFP is also seeking two new board members for the coming year.

Jacobs called the help RCFP gets from donors and volunteers when it’s needed “miraculous.”

“I’ve seen a lot of things in my life,” Jacobs said. “But this is something else. I could write a book about the miracles I’ve seen at this place. Every time we’re in need of something, it seems to show up out of thin air. I thank God for that.”

In 2026, Jacobs expects food need to be the same as 2025, if not more. He believes high prices at the grocery store are impacting 90% of RCFP’s clientele. Olson said the food pantry has seen a number of first-time clients lately.

“Knowing that so many people in this community are hurting and in need bothers me,” Jacobs said. “I’m not sure the community at large understands how dire the situation is. But here, we know it. And it’s huge.”

Jacobs has been involved with the food pantry since 2000 and Olson has volunteered there since 2020. Both marvel at how the community has risen up to meet unprecedented need in the past year.

“Seeing how this place is now versus when I started is amazing,” Jacobs said. “The growth we’ve seen has been unexpected. But the donations have been too. Five years ago, I would not have thought we’d be in the shape we’re in today. The generosity of this community is unparalleled.”