Carpentersville, IL — January 19, 2026 — The D300 Food Pantry held its annual meeting this week, bringing together board members, volunteers, donors, and community partners to reflect on a year marked by both significant challenges and extraordinary community support.

Over the past year, the D300 Food Pantry navigated a number of complex issues impacting the families it serves, including periods of increased ICE enforcement that caused fear and reduced pantry visits, a temporary freeze on SNAP benefits, and the Meadowdale apartment fires that displaced families and created urgent need. In each case, the pantry was able to respond quickly and compassionately due to strong community partnerships and volunteer support.

In 2025, the D300 Food Pantry served 8,253 unique children and 3,154 unique households, representing families who rely on the pantry throughout the year. Volunteers logged 7,417 hours tracked through the pantry’s volunteer management system. Pantry leadership noted that these figures reflect only logged hours and do not capture the countless additional hours contributed by board members, committee leaders, and key volunteers working behind the scenes.

Beyond food distribution, the pantry continued to advance its mission of nurturing a healthier, happier, and stronger community through supplemental programs and events. Highlights included a Back-to-School Supply Event and Fun Fair to help students start the school year prepared and confident, as well as the Holiday Shop, which allowed families to select gifts for their children with dignity during the holiday season.

During the meeting, the pantry also recognized outstanding Community Partner Award recipients for their exceptional support:

• Jersey Mike’s particularly the Carpentersville location, for ongoing generosity and engagement
• Willow Creek, recognized for its continued partnership and commitment to local families
• The Seigle Foundation, for its impactful philanthropic support

“These partnerships are essential to our ability to respond in times of crisis and to continue expanding programs that support the whole family,” Nikki Kuhlman, Board Vice President shared during the meeting.

The annual meeting also included the election of board officers for the coming year. The D300 Food Pantry is pleased to announce the following board leadership:

• Chuck Bumbales, President
• Nikki Kuhlman, Vice President
• Jeff Davis, continuing as Secretary
• Jill Scarpino, continuing as Treasurer

Looking ahead, the pantry also shared upcoming initiatives, including its winter fundraiser, Coldest Night of the Year, an upcoming golf outing, expanded volunteer opportunities, and the launch of a new D300 Food Pantry logo merchandise store.

The D300 Food Pantry extends its sincere gratitude to all volunteers, donors, partners, and supporters who made this year’s work possible.

For more information about the D300 Food Pantry, upcoming events, or ways to get involved, visit d300foodpantry.org.

Some highlights from 2022:

• 1,206 unique children served
• 530 unique households served
• 2,450 unique individuals served
• 123 food distributions from pantry shopping, box pickup, special deliveries and Eagles Wings distributions
• 159 tons of food collected

Three community partner awards were handed out:

• Representative Suzanne Ness and her staff: for the diaper drives and donations made through the year
• Bimbos Bakery: for the generous donation of baked goods including breads, pastries and other baked goods
• Butcher on the Block: for the generous donations through the year of meats, particularly around the holidays

And finally, the coveted Volunteer of the Year award was given to Jessica “Jessi” Szczypinski for her dedication. Jessi became an integral part of the pantry team this year, volunteering her time week after week. She has worked every shift, and stepped in to lead when we were short handed, volunteered for extra pantry events and really built her knowledge of all the happenings at the pantry. She has continued to share her love for the pantry in the community, organizing food drives with her school’s PTO, and inviting new people to come and volunteer with us.