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Volunteers assist Northwestern Settlement's food pantry. Credit: Sarah Frasco / Northwestern Settlement / Provided

WEST TOWN — A West Town nonprofit is able to expand its in-demand food pantry program during the coronavirus pandemic thanks to a matching grant from GoFundMe.

Northwestern University Settlement House, 1400 W. Augusta Blvd., is a social services organization that has been serving Chicagoans for more than 125 years. After raising $10,000 on Giving Tuesday, the group was awarded one of 300 grants from the GoFundMe Charity.

The Settlement has raised more than $12,000 through ​GoFundMe. With the help of other partners, all donations up to $37,500 will be matched.

The support is well-timed: The organization’s food pantry saw a nearly 300 percent increase in weekly visitors March 16-April 29, said Northwestern Settlement’s Sarah Frasco.

During that time, volunteers distributed more than 2,000 bags of food.

“This pandemic has put the inequalities of our society under a microscope,” Frasco said. “Those who need the most help have been hit the hardest.”

The food pantry is open 9 a.m.-noon Tuesday-Thursday. It will be closed Thanksgiving week, with regular hours resuming Dec. 1. The pantry will be closed the weeks of Dec. 21 and Dec. 28.

Volunteers are needed for four-hour shifts that run 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday.

Frasco said volunteers are asked to stay for the duration of their shift, so only sign up if you can help all four hours. You can sign up for a shift by emailing info@nush.org.

You can also donate to the food pantry’s GoFundMe fundraiser or buy emergency supplies and household essentials for neighbors from the pantry’s Amazon Wish List.

Credit: Sarah Frasco / Northwestern Settlement / Provided

Business owners wishing to arrange a larger food donation can email Yasmin Rordriguez, director of Northwestern Settlement’s Emergency Services, at yrodriguez@nush.org. 

Founded in 1891 by leaders of Northwestern University, Northwestern Settlement served the West Town community, then home to primarily German, Polish, Irish and Scandinavian immigrants.

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