Get Food Assistance Using My Pantry Express
No one should be hungry. We want to ensure that anyone who needs it has free access to the nutritious groceries.
My Pantry Express is an online food pantry developed and operated by Northern Illinois Food Bank in collaboration with community partners. Individuals interested in shopping with My Pantry Express can visit our website to place an online grocery order for pick up or delivery* at no charge. It’s easy:
- Visit www.MyPantryExpress.org and click Begin Order.
- Click the check box at the top of the page to confirm you need food assistance.
- View the calendar to find a location near you and start shopping.
- Your food will be boxed and available either for pick up or delivery* at your chosen time and location.
Right now we are piloting this program in select locations across Joliet, Rockford, DeKalb, and the Waukegan and North Chicago area. *Visit the My Pantry Express site to get pick up and delivery information for your area*.
FAQ’s for New Customers
Many people do not have the resources to adequately meet all of their basic needs such as housing, food, clothing, education, and healthcare. My Pantry Express is a program that was developed to help households making tough choices about how to spend limited resources to increase the quality, variety, quantity, and desirability of food in the household.
Eligibility is based on self-identified need. We do not have restrictions based on income, residency, SNAP eligibility, or any other specific criteria. You are welcome to shop if you are currently in need of access to more food.
The Food Bank is dedicated to serving people making tough choices about how to spend their limited resources to adequately meet all of their basic needs. In order to maintain our non-profit status, the IRS requires that we are intentional about how and to whom our food is distributed. By attesting, you acknowledge you are in need of our services.
We never sell any information that we collect. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
At this time, we collect your name, phone number, email and zip code. At times we may ask if you would be willing to participate in a survey or focus group to evaluate the program. These surveys and focus groups are optional.
In the upper, right hand corner there is a drop down box. Click on the down arrow and choose your preferred language.
We will email and call with a reminder. Please contact 630-443-6393 or [email protected] for any questions or concerns regarding your order.
This is location specific & Please bring your order confirmation number. It can be found right before the item details of your order in the confirmation email you will receive after submitting your order. It can also be found on the page that appears after you submit your order.
You do not need to bring shopping bags for your groceries—your order will come in grocery bags.
No, the shopping list may not always be the same. However, Northern Illinois Food Bank will work to provide pantry staples, dairy, frozen meats and fresh produce each week.
We’re not able to fulfill specific requests at this time, however, we value your feedback as we look to expand our offerings. Please share your suggestions with us anytime at [email protected]. Doing so will only help us improve the My Pantry Express experience in the future!
There will be approximately 35 items available to choose from, including milk, assorted fresh produce, frozen meats, canned foods and more. Each item offered has a capacity that is listed on the website.
You can order weekly through My Pantry Express, however, there is a maximum capacity on the number of orders we can fulfill at this time, each week. Our goal is to gradually increase the order capacity as the pilot continues. If we reach the capacity, we will be unable to accept any more orders. We will announce on the website when the order window will re-open for upcoming dates, and we encourage you to check back on the website to submit a new order.
Your order must be submitted three business days (Monday – Friday) before your scheduled pick up, excluding holidays.
After you submit your order, an email confirmation will be sent to the email address you entered at checkout. Please keep it for your records until you pick up your order.
If you don’t receive an email confirmation within 24 hours of placing your order, please check your junk or spam email folder. If it is not anywhere in your email account, please contact 630.443.6914 or [email protected]
FAQ’s for Current Customers
Not at this time. Various pickup locations are currently being tested (retailer, school, community center), and are subject to change.
Northern Illinois Food Bank is always evaluating the effectiveness of the program. If different pickup times/locations will be offered, we will communicate that to clients of My Pantry Express.
If the pickup times and/or locations currently offered do not work for you, please visit Northern Illinois Food Bank’s website at www.SolveHungerToday.org/GetHelp to locate the Food Pantry or an onsite feeding program nearest you.
Remember to save your confirmation email after you initially submit your order; your order number, pick-up date, and location can be found towards the top of the confirmation, right before the details of your order are listed.
We would greatly appreciate any heads up if your ability to pick up your order changes! Please contact 630.443.6914 OR [email protected] for any questions or concerns regarding your order.
Yes. They will need the order number to pick up your groceries.
Please call or email us at 630.443.6914 or [email protected] as soon as possible to let us know.
You can cancel your order, if you know you will NOT be able to make the pickup, we would appreciate if you could notify us so we can plan accordingly. You are welcome to submit a new order at your convenience.
This is also extremely helpful especially because we can only fulfill a certain number of orders for each pick up site, so if you are not able to pick up your order, we can offer the spot to another My Pantry Express shopper.
No, please choose the pickup location you are able to pick up from, we are not able to change your pickup options or reschedule your order, after it has been submitted.
Please contact 630.443.6914 or [email protected] for any questions or concerns regarding your order as soon as possible.
If you don’t receive an email confirmation within 24 hours of placing your order, please check your junk or spam email folder. If it is not anywhere in your email account, please contact 630.443.6914 or [email protected].
Delivery Questions
We currently offer delivery in Kane County, DuPage County, Will County, Winnebago County, DeKalb County, and Lake County.
Currently, our pilot can only accommodate those within a 10-mile radius of each location listed on the website as a “delivery location”. Please see mypantryexpress.org/locations to view the address of each delivery location.
If the address you submit is outside of our delivery radius, or if we do not receive your address, we will automatically cancel your order. If we cancel your order, we will send you an email letting you know about the cancellation three business days before your scheduled delivery date.
To order for delivery, submit an order at one of the locations named “Delivery”. At this time, we only offer delivery from locations that are named “Delivery”: “Will- Joliet Delivery”, “KANE- Geneva Delivery”, “Winnebago- Rockford Delivery”, “Lake- Evening Delivery”, and “Lake- Afternoon Delivery”. Then choose the items you need for the week, and submit your order. After you submit your order, read your confirmation email carefully and submit your address every time you order.
Please be sure to read your confirmation email carefully and submit your address every time you order.
If we do not receive a completed form by 10am three business days in advance of delivery, your order will be automatically cancelled.
Deliveries through My Pantry Express are completely free! My Pantry Express and Northern Illinois Food Bank, in partnership with DoorDash, cover all fees, including tip.
You are welcome to order weekly!
As an account holder, you can find the appropriate order and click “cancel”. Cancellations must be made 3 business days before the pick-up date.
For cancellations after that time, or if you do not have an account, please email us with the date of your order and your order number. You order must be cancelled 4 hours before the scheduled delivery. Orders cancelled within 4 hours of the delivery time will still be delivered.
You may only order from My Pantry Express once a week- this includes either one delivery OR one pick-up.
For Account Holders
You need a valid email address, a valid phone number, and a password.
Click on the “Lost your password?” link on the login page and you will be able to reset your password.
Go to your account dashboard and your account number will be listed there.
After you log in, click on “Account Details” on the left side menu. Account information can be edited there.
After you have logged in, click on “Orders” on the left side menu.
View your order history, find the appropriate order, and click “edit”. Changes must be made 3 business days before the pick-up date.
View your order history, find the appropriate order, and click “cancel”. Cancellations must be made 3 business days before the pick-up date. Any cancellations after that time, please email us with the date of your order and your order number.
View your order history, find the appropriate order, and click “Order Again”. If you would like to see what else is available, click on “Shop”. Then proceed as usual. Please note, this feature does not guarantee previously ordered items are in stock. Be sure to check your cart before checkout.