DuPage Township Food Pantry Referendum Projected To Pass

WILL COUNTY, IL — The DuPage Township referendum for new food pantry plans is projected to pass, according to unofficial results.

27,505 people voted yes to the referendum, while 7,394 voted no, as of unofficial results on Wednesday morning.

DuPage Township serves Bolingbrook, and parts of Romeoville and Naperville.

The question on the ballot read: Shall DuPage Township replace its Romeoville food pantry with a consolidated facility featuring a larger food pantry and resource center at the northeast corner of Canterbury Road and Lily Cache Lanes in Bolingbrook with revenues on hand from grant funds and with no property tax increase?

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

YES - 27,505

NO - 7,394

Plans for a new pantry have been underway for a few years. In 2023, the Township announced that it would close its Romeoville pantry once the new Bolingbrook facility was completed.

The Township has also secured federal funding for the project.

In January 2024, the Bolingbrook Village Board sent a proposal for the food pantry back to its plan commission, with the Village Attorney saying the proposal was incomplete and disjointed.

DuPage Township had applied to construct an approximately 11,000-square-foot building to house a food pantry, an office and a warehouse, according to village documents. The pantry and resource center is proposed to occupy a 1.46-acre site currently vacant and zoned as B-1 local retail.

The Township has not yet been back in front of the commission for any plans.

The food pantry is currently located at 719 Parkwood Ave., in Romeoville, and serves over 1,000 families a month, according to the Township website.

The township website states that 70 percent of people who use the pantry are Bolingbrook residents, 25 percent are Romeoville residents, and 5 percent are from other township sections.

20 percent of Township families qualify for pantry services, according to the website. In 2023, the pantry served nearly 8,300 households, or 25,000 people.