Feeding a need: Hospital micro pantry delivers wholeness to the community

By providing 24/7 access to essential food and hygiene items outside the emergency room doors, UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook's micro pantry ensures that individuals’ most basic needs are met.
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  • Ama Akoto-Boateng
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Community People
Two couples stand in front of new micro food pantry.

Tom Truver and his wife, Cecille Truver, are pictured with Ashley Silmon and her father, Scott Silmon, in front of the new, more durable micro pantry structure outside the emergency room at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook.

Addressing basic needs is core to AdventHealth’s promise to help those we serve feel whole.

At UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook, one way this commitment comes to life is through a micro pantry, a 24/7 resource placed outside the emergency room that provides nonperishable food and essential items to about 200 patients and neighbors each week.

Cecille Truver -- the hospital’s director of imaging, patient transport and volunteer services -- highlights this initiative as a vital lifeline.

“When people leave the ER during the day or at night, sometimes they aren’t able to visit the grocery store,” she said.

For Truver, the pantry is more than meeting a critical gap. It’s a tribute to her heritage and her parents, whom she watched feed people experiencing homelessness in the Chicagoland area.

A community partnership

While a micro pantry has existed at the hospital in the past, Truver realized it needed a revamp. Inspired by a local library model, she and her husband, Tom Truver, connected with the Silmon family, the micro pantry's builders. Sharing a similar faith-based mission, the Silmons volunteered their time and talents to construct a new, durable structure.

“This is a beautiful example of partnering with the community to extend our mission,” said Mike Nunn, chief operating officer at UChicago Medicine AdventHealth Bolingbrook. “This pantry is a blessing to many in need and a visible reminder that our mission doesn’t end at our doors.”

See before and after photos of the micro pantry below:

The original micro pantry structure.

The new micro pantry structure.

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Tom Truver and Cecille Truver.

A shared commitment

The initiative is supported by AdventHealth team members and local donors. Each week, various units across the facility take turns to ensure the resource is clean and well-stocked.

“It’s heartwarming to see our community care for each other,” Cecille Truver said.

Rebecca Davis, the hospital's clinical chaplain manager, oversees the pantry.

“AdventHealth’s mission is to extend the healing ministry of Christ, who understood the interconnectedness of physical, mental and spiritual well-being,” she said. “Supporting this work means caring for the whole person.”

A lasting impact

Cecille Truver has spent 37 years at AdventHealth and contributed to the opening of the hospital in 2004.

Her husband, who is retired, now volunteers at the facility and participates in a local feeding program. Together, they continue to make a meaningful impact.

“This work is not just about health care -- it’s about family, community and faith,” Cecille Truver said.

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