Ravenswood Community Services began as an outreach program of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Chicago. In 1990, parishioners began distributing bags of groceries to about 20 neighbors in need each week through the front doors of the church. By 1993, the project expanded to include a meal, and became known as the Just Neighbors Food Pantry and Community Kitchen. The program took place on Tuesday evenings and included grocery distribution and a hot meal staffed by All Saints' parishioners and community volunteers. In 2001, volunteers and staff formed a separate 501(c)3 organization -- Ravenswood Community Services (RCS) -- to provide poverty relief by alleviating hunger in Ravenswood. Today, RCS distributes a nutritious mix of grocery staples to more than 300 individuals and households, and serves a hot, family-style meal to more than 100 adults and children each Tuesday evening. Tuesday night patrons also have access to on-site health-screenings and education through creative partnerships with The School of Nursing at DePaul University and The Night Ministry. In the fall of 2009, RCS began a partnership with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and Ravenswood School to add a monthly outdoor market-style food pantry, which provides food assistance to about 150 neighborhood families each month. RCS' relationship with Ravenswood School (a local public elementary school) also includes life-skills education programs and small group mentoring to neighborhood youth.

Ravenswood Community Services (RCS) provides resources for neighbors in need and creates opportunities for individual and community outreach in the Ravenswood and Uptown neighborhoods on the north side of Chicago. We realize this mission by providing our neighbors with the basics of food and daily supplies, health screenings and information, and life-skills education so that they can achieve health, stability, and dignity.

Ravenswood Community Services (RCS) addresses the needs of neighbors in the Ravenswood and Uptown neighborhoods through five primary programs: 1) RCS Food Pantry: Every Tuesday night, RCS provides bags of nutritionally balanced groceries (including at least one protein item, a grains item, canned fruits and vegetables, plus fresh milk and bread) to an average of more than 300 individuals or households in need of food assistance. RCS also offers a no-kitchen option, containing easy-to-prepare items and pop-top cans for homeless neighbors or those without access to a traditional kitchen. 2) RCS Community Kitchen: During grocery distribution at the RCS Food Pantry, the RCS Community Kitchen provides a weekly family-style meal (including a hot entree, a vegetable and/or salad, bread, and dessert) for up to 126 adults and children. Meal participants are invited to take the same groceries available to pantry participants when they are finished with dinner. 3) Health Screenings: Through unique partnerships with The Night Ministry and The DePaul School of Nursing, RCS offers HIV, blood pressure, diabetes, hypertension and other health screenings and education to its Tuesday night neighbors. 4) Ravenswood School Partnership: RCS has developed a strong partnership with Ravenswood School, a neighborhood public elementary school with a low-income student population of 65%. Through this partnership, RCS produces the annual Reality Fair, an event similar to a three-dimensional version of the game of LIFE where more than 40 RCS volunteers engage with seventh and eighth graders to help them develop practical life skills and learn about financial realities. RCS also leads the focus:future program at Ravenswood School, a mentoring program to help soon-to-be-graduating 8th-grade students navigate the stressful and competitive high school application process. 5) RCS Mobile Pantry: RCS has expanded its partnership with Ravenswood School to include hunger relief programming. One Saturday morning a month, RCS partners with Ravenswood School and the Greater Chicago Food Depository to offer an outdoor farmers market-style food pantry in the school parking lot, targeted at neighborhood families with school-aged children (participants need not have a student enrolled at Ravenswood School; the pantry has been promoted through four neighborhood schools). The Mobile Pantry offers fresh produce in addition to other grocery staples. Approximately 100 dedicated volunteers now serve RCS program areas on a monthly basis. An additional 200+ volunteers participate in group projects, intermittent programs, and special events each year to support RCS' mission.