ILLINOIS — The changing landscape of life amid the new coronavirus outbreak is impacting a whole host of areas — travel, education, business. For local food pantries, the changing landscape means changing how they do things, but not what they do. People still need food assistance — and those numbers are growing.

Kendall County Community Food Pantry Board Chair Greg Witeck said he is seeing the need in the community climb.

“We serve the homeless, those on public aid and the income-challenged,” he said. “It’s the income-challenged (clients) that (are) skyrocketing.”

He said right now he is seeing about a 50 percent increase in need and expects that to continue to climb. During the Wednesday morning pickup, about 10 new clients sought out the food pantry’s services, according to Karen Anderson, who works the front desk.

To help process new clients and still comply with social distancing, local food pantries have implemented drive-thru or delivery services and relaxed requirements for onboarding of clients.

Plainfield Area Interfaith Food Pantry has an announcement on its website about its procedure.

“COVID – 19 Update 3/16 PATFB remains open during our normal operating hours, and will do so as government advisories allow,” the site says. “Some procedures have been changed in consideration of our volunteers and clients’ safety … please remain patient during our distributions as everyone adapts to these changes and as we have seen an increase in new client inquiries.”

Calls to Plainfield Area Interfaith Food Pantry for details were not returned.

For both Kendall County Food Pantry and DuPage Township Food Pantry in Romeoville, how they distribute food has changed. The two pantries have transitioned to drive-up only.

“We instituted a new drive-up program,” said DuPage Township Supervisor Felix George. “Before, the client would come up to the food pantry with a basket, and they would pick up the things they need.

“Now they just stay in the car, and we bring the stuff out to the car.”

The process is similar in Kendall County.

“Kendall County Health Department has had conversations with us and we have described the way we are doing things, described the drive-thru, and they are ecstatic,” Witeck said.

No clients are allowed into the building.

“They are missing out on diapers, they are missing out on clothes and pet food, but they are getting food,” Witeck said.

In neighboring Oswego, Witeck said Oswego Township has partnered with the pantry to create a delivery system for senior citizens so they can remain at home.

“They have not only put together a crew of people that are delivering now to 200 seniors, they have asked us to use our buying power to serve their community also.”

Witeck said Oswego Township donated $5,000 to the pantry.

That buying power means that area food pantries that operate under the Northern Illinois Food Bank umbrella can get more food per dollar than a consumer in a store.

“We can still buy about $8 retail value of food for every dollar donated,” Witeck said.

To qualify for new services at DuPage County or Kendall County, clients need to bring two forms of ID proving residency. The income verification step has been relaxed during the outbreak. The Plainfield Area Interfaith Food Pantry website says new applicants who live in Plainfield School District 202 need to bring ID and proof of address to the pantry after 10:30 a.m. on a day they are distributing food.

None of the pantries Patch spoke with have a solution for what might happen if the pandemic causes more profound limits of citizen movement, but all indicated that they are having ongoing conversations about the issue.

“The only discussion I can tell you we’ve had is that, within our own community, we don’t have the ability to do deliveries,” Witeck said. “If they really do restrict travel, I don’t know if we would be considered a critical group or not.”

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Days of food distribution are as follow:

DuPage Township Food Pantry (serves residents within DuPage Township):

Next Day: 9 a.m. March 24

Regular Days: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday

Kendall County Food Pantry (serves residents within Kendall County limits):

Next Day: Noon to 6 p.m., March 26

Regular Days: 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays

Plainfield Area Interfaith Food Pantry (serves residents in Plainfield School District 202):

Next day: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 21

Regular days: 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.