Nourishing Hope of Chicago, IL

Nourishing Hope (formerly Lakeview Pantry) is a dynamic social services organization providing food, mental wellness counseling and other social services, such as job and housing assistance, to our Chicago neighbors in need. Founded in 1970, we strive to serve the needs of the whole person—with respect and dignity, always.

We provide on-site food distribution, deliver food to home-bound clients, distribute free clothing, and have a social services program that helps clients connect with other services they need to address the causes of food insecurity.

We see clients of every race, religion, age and background. In fact, clients have only two shared characteristics: they are poor (average income is less than $750 per month) and they have nowhere else to turn. Clients can visit our locations once per month to receive fresh produce, dairy, meat, grains, and other items. Additionally, they can come in once a week and receive additional produce and bread. 

Our Home Delivery and Online Market programs also make Nourishing Hope an accessible food resource for many of our clients. The vast majority of those we serve within our neighborhood may be disabled, working for minimum wage, recently unemployed, or the elderly. Our programs insure the our neighbors in need can combat food insecurity. Additionally, Nourishing Hope is one of few pantries in Chicago to offer food distribution to homeless people. We distribute specially packaged foods that don't require refrigeration and can be opened without can openers to our homeless clients.

Nourishing Hope strives to eliminate hunger in our community by: providing food to fill the basic need of hungry people, increasing the independence of our clients through self-help initiatives and other innovative programs, and raising awareness of poverty and its solution.