Lakeview Pantry rebrands as Nourishing Hope in effort to serve more Chicagoans

CHICAGO - A longtime Chicago food pantry has a new name and an expanded mission to help more people. The Lakeview Pantry is now Nourishing Hope.

On Friday, the newly branded Nourishing Hope team celebrated the opening of its headquarters on West Hubbard near Ashland.

While they’ll still have a pantry in Lake View, the new location helps them serve the city’s West and South sides.

"No Chicagoan should worry about putting food on the table and no Chicagoan should feel alone or hopeless," said Amy Eshleman, Chicago’s First Lady.

Yet all the people on hand Friday who work to alleviate hunger see the still elevated pandemic numbers moving up yet again.

"We see lines getting longer, we see mothers having to fight for formula," said Kate Maehr from the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

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The Lakeview Pantry saw the need for food start rising again in January, along with inflation.

"The dollar is just not stretching as far as it once did at the grocery store or the gas pump, and that's leading people to make choices. Really tough choices. Do I feed my family today? Or do I put gas in my car for work?" said Kellie O’Connell, CEO of Nourishing Hope.

The new site is about more than food. They're also trying to address the root causes of hunger with expanded access to social service.

"If you're worried about how you're going to eat you can't even think about anything else, and that has a mental impact on folks," said Walter Burnett, 27th Ward Alderman.

Inside the headquarters, you'll find mental wellness offices as well as connections to housing or job training.

"We know hunger doesn't exist by itself. To solve hunger, you really need to address what might be going on underneath the hunger," said O'Connell.

The new Nourishing Hope tagline says it all: "Food for today. Hope for tomorrow."