Food Pantry Director 'Going Above And Beyond': Aurora Hero

AURORA, IL — When times are tough, heroes emerge. We all know someone who's making a difference right now as we live through unprecedented and changing times.

Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize these heroes making a difference in their communities. Together with Ring, we're working to let all your neighbors know about these outstanding people and their stories.

This submission comes from Cathy Ferrel, who nominated Diane Renner, director of the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry in Aurora. Ferrel worked with Renner at the pantry for eight years.

Name: Diane Renner

Hometown: Aurora

Hero's job: Executive Director of the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry

Relationship to nominee: I worked with her for 8 years.

Reason for recognition: Diane goes above and beyond for the call of feeding the food-insecure in the Fox Valley area, especially during the pandemic. Never closed a day, handled 3-4 times normal numbers, and helped keep all volunteers safe.

One thing to know: For every dollar donated to the food pantry, 97% goes into putting food on the shelves — Very low expenses due to Diane's careful watch of the donor's dollar.

Thank you for all you do, Diane!

Do YOU have a local hero you would like us to know about? Share their story here. Read about other heroes from across Illinois here.

All photos included in this post are owned by identified third parties who have given Patch the right to use explicitly for the Patch Local Heroes series.

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