"I Never Thought I'd Be Here"

Feeding her family from a food pantry was not a position in which Lauren Hoffstadt ever thought she would find herself. Before this, she was married, working as an accountant and busy raising four children in a relatively comfortable lifestyle.

"I never thought I'd be here," Hoffstadt said, speaking before the recent grand opening of the community Care center in Grayslake. "But our whole world changed when my husband died two years ago."

She paused briefly to collect her thoughts.

"We didn't have enough money to pay the bills," she said. "There were times when we simply wouldn't have enough to eat."

Hoffstadt said the community Care center helped her family survive.

"Here, they treat you with dignity and respect here, no matter what your situation is," she said. "It doesn't matter how bad our circumstances are, every time we come here, I get uplifted."

The center is run by The Chapel, a church with campuses in Barrington, Grayslake, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, McHenry, Mundelein and Palatine, believes that rediscovering God changes everything. The food pantry is one of the ways the church helps people connect and be inspired.

Hoffstadt praised the community Care center for providing a nice connection between volunteers and other clients. 

"There is a bigger connection here that is worth more than just getting the food," Hoffstadt said. "It's not just about the food. Here, you can connect with others and suddenly you are not so alone."  

Hoffstadt added that the warmth and compassion of the cCc "saved my life, emotionally. It makes you feel like there is still hope."

She and her 16-year-old daughter, Jenna, now both volunteer at the cCc.

"When I volunteer here, I know I'm helping people," said Jenna. "It's not just about the food, it's about listening to people's stories. It's a great feeling to know that I am helping someone else."

Lauren Hoffstadt said she hopes that eventually the stigma around needing to seek help goes away.

"People should not be ashamed of needing help," Hoffstadt said. "In this economy, no one is untouched by this."

For more information, to donate or volunteer, email Juli Chaffee at jchaffee@chapel.org.

Read more:

• "Miracles Happen Here" Say Chapel Staff Members
• Grayslake Community Care Center Opens to Serve Those in Need