Walworth County Food Pantry to move to new location, aims to up the ante on service for clients
By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
After six years of serving the county out of Lake Geneva, the Walworth County Food Pantry is moving on up to Elkhorn, in hopes of offering a better experience for those in need in a larger and more centralized location.
The pantry is currently at W3252 Highway H, Town of Geneva, and will be open through Dec. 30 – contrary to what was written in last week’s Time Is Now column – and reopening on Jan. 3 in its new location in the Aurora Clinic off of Highway 67 in Elkhorn, just of Interstate 43. The change in move dates is due to some unforeseen circumstances with freezer placement.
During the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the pantries will be open on Tuesdays, Dec. 24 and Dec. 30, instead of Wednesday, to allow clients and volunteers to be at home with their families during the holiday.
Jim Drescher, who started the food pantry about six years ago with Sam Dimicelli of Time Is Now, Inc., said they’ve kind of outgrown the current food pantry and one of the big things he discovered was how having two levels has created some difficulties.
“We’ve made the two levels work, but for our volunteers, having a single level place is much, much better,” he said. “They’re not going upstairs once or twice, they’re going up multiple times.”
Having always been keeping the next location in mind, Drescher said he put the building up for sale several years ago and when he received an offer, he began looking for a new home for the food pantry and zeroed in on the Aurora site as its more centered in Walworth County.
“I had actually driven by, sat in that parking lot, thought this is where my food pantry should be,” he said.
Being far too expensive for Drescher to do on his own, he continued looking, though a series of events would eventually get him into his dream building.
With his wife volunteering with the Open Arms Free Clinic, Drescher said his wife came home to tell him Sara Nichols, the clinic manager, had brought up the idea of getting a building with the pantry.
“I was like, yeah, this would be great,” he said. “It’s one of those things where there is no rhyme or reason, no logical way it came together, but it came together…we’re delighted to be in the same building with them.”
Soon thereafter, seeing the opportunity to help the clinic and pantry, Drescher said Greg Kunes, of the Kunes auto group, stepped up and purchased the building for the pair.
“I approached him about being the other person in the building and he thought it was a great idea,” he said.
Drescher said they’re incredibly grateful for Kunes’ help in making the dream a reality, as well as all of his involvement in feeding the county’s hungry over the years through numerous means.
Not looking to disturb the environment of the building, Drescher said they look forward to getting in to the building, seeing how things flow and making changes as needed.
“I’m stepping out on the diving board again, hanging over the ledge again, because I want to make it better for people,” he said. “It’s kind of a goal, I’m never satisfied, I’m always driving the ball to make it a better experience for people.”
In entering the new location, Drescher said the pantry aims to not only continue to give efficient service to its clients, but additionally provide them with some new options.
Currently giving clients pre-bagged food based on family size, Drescher said they hope to be able to give clients a mini-grocery store type setting, giving them the base foods – such as rice, pasta, cereal and spaghetti sauce – in a bagged form, but also giving them more options and allowing them to make some choices, picking food off the shelf.
“It gives us a greater chance of those people using 100 percent of what we give them because they’ll have a greater choice in the matter,” he said.
Drescher said another one of their main goals is to eventually open a thrift store at the new location, offering items to clients if they need them, similar to Love Inc. in Burlington. Additionally, Drescher said the thrift store would be open at different hours than the food pantry.
Drescher noted recent clothing and merchandise donations from the Milwaukee Bucks such as promotional 7-inch basketballs and shirts.
“Whatever God gives us, we somehow figure out how to use it,” he said. “That’s nice to give out to the kids and even some of the adults.”
