Thirteen downtown Glen Ellyn restaurants will donate 5% of sales Sept. 22–23 as part of Glen House Food Pantry's Hunger Action Month.

The two-day Step Up to the Plate fundraiser is the centerpiece of a packed September schedule the pantry released for the awareness campaign. The Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance of Downtown Glen Ellyn are co-hosting the event.

Participating restaurants include Alfie's Inn, A Toda Madre, Bonita Bowls, Chicken Salad Chick, Curry A La Flambe, Ichi Ramen, Lewey Q's Tap, Maize + Mash, Mancini's Tavola, Maplewood Brewery & Distillery, MK Steak + Bar, Reserve 22 Restaurant at Village Links and Santa Fe Restaurant. All will donate 5% of dine-in and carry-out sales on Tuesday, Sept. 22, and Wednesday, Sept. 23.

On Monday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m., the Village of Glen Ellyn Board of Trustees will formally proclaim September as Hunger Action Month at the Glen Ellyn Civic Center, 535 Duane St. The public is invited.

A youth art contest opens Sept. 1, with submissions accepted through Sept. 18. Young artists ages 5 to 18 can enter in three age categories. Winning designs will appear on the pantry's holiday card and "Feeding Friends" notecard sets sold in December. Winners will be announced Sept. 29.

Residents interested in volunteering can attend one-hour orientations on Wednesday, Sept. 16, or Wednesday, Sept. 23, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the pantry, 55 N. Park Blvd. Each session includes a tour. Registration on the pantry's website is required.

Executive Director Laura Glaza, a Glen Ellyn resident who has led the pantry since 2020, will speak at the Glen Ellyn Chamber's September meeting on Thursday, Sept. 3, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane St. Attendees will assemble birthday bags for pantry clients with items like cake mix, frosting, candles and plates.

Terri Venzon, the pantry services manager who has worked at Glen House since 2011 and knows all 530-plus volunteers by name, said on the pantry's website that she is "honored to be a part of a workplace that provides food and friendship to our neighbors in need."

The pantry distributed 870,000 pounds of groceries to more than 8,500 people in 2024, according to its website. Thirty-eight percent of those served were children.

Founded in 1979 by a youth group at Grace Lutheran Church, the pantry expanded its service area to all of DuPage County in 2020. It changed its name from Glen Ellyn Food Pantry to Glen House Food Pantry in 2024 to reflect that broader reach and opened a Snack Center at 800 N. Roosevelt Rd. in Glen Ellyn in 2026.