UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook continues supporting community members beyond hospital walls through a micro pantry located outside its emergency room. Available as a 24/7 resource, the pantry provides nonperishable food and essential items to approximately 200 patients and neighbors each week. After the previous pantry structure became worn over time, AdventHealth partnered with local donors and the Silmon family to revitalize the initiative. The Silmons volunteered their time and talents to build a new pantry structure for the community. The effort is personal for Cecile Truver, AdventHealth Bolingbrook’s director of imaging, patient transport and volunteer services, who has dedicated 37 years to AdventHealth Bolingbrook and was inspired by her parents’ example of serving people experiencing homelessness in the Chicagoland area.

Why We Did It

AdventHealth supports initiatives like the micro pantry to help address basic needs that directly impact the community’s well-being. Hospital leaders and team members recognize that many patients and community members face barriers to accessing food and essential items, particularly after leaving the emergency room outside normal store hours. Through a collaboration with local partners, donors and volunteers, the pantry was created to provide an important source of support.