Kadner: Food pantry truck robbed to obtain precious metals

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Updated: March 1, 2012 9:46AM

Precious-metal thieves apparently vandalized a truck used to pick up food for hundreds of needy families in the Southland.

Thieves over the weekend cut two catalytic converters off a truck owned by Together We Cope as it was parked behind the organization’s headquarters, 17010 Oak Park Ave., in Tinley Park.

Catalytic converters contain platinum and palladium, which were selling for about $1,600 an ounce and $680 an ounce, respectively, on Monday.

Tinley Park police told Together We Cope officials they suspect the thieves were after those metals.

Catalytic converters typically contain between 3 to 7 grams of platinum (the larger the vehicle the larger the converter) and there are about 28 grams in an ounce.

Thieves all over the country have apparently figured out a way to remove the catalytic converters in a short period of time and scrounge enough precious metal to make good money.

They typically focus on Metra and other parking lots where large numbers of cars are located.

Officials at Together We Cope were left scrambling to find a replacement truck to make the organization’s food delivery today.

“This hits us really hard,” Kathryn Straniero, executive director for Together We Cope, said in a statement released Monday.

“Not only is there the issue of repair cost, but it puts out of commission for a few days a truck we rely heavily on to make food pickups for our pantry.

“There will be hundreds of families counting on us this week to provide groceries, and we can’t let them down.”

The truck is used to pick up several thousand pounds of food each week from the Chicago Food Depository for use at the Together We Cope food pantry.

About 60 families a day use the Together We Cope food pantry.

Like many social service agencies, Together We Cope has been struggling to meet growing demands on its services as government agencies have reduced funding due to the economic downturn.

The estimated cost of replacing the catalytic converters on the truck is $1,400. While Together We Cope has an insurance policy with a $500 deductible, the non-profit’s portion of the repair bill could increase beyond the deductible because of the age of the 2005 Chevy 3500 box truck.

“This is really the one vehicle we absolutely need because it is the only one capable of carrying all that food and making the deliveries to the families that count on us,” Straniero told me.

Together We Cope is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a fundraising dinner/dance on Feb. 24 at the Odyssey Country Club in Tinley Park.

Tickets for the fundraiser are $90 each and the event helps the organization help thousands of families each year facing eviction, unemployment or financial hardship.

I was named a co-chairman of this year’s event along with Tinley Park Mayor Edward Zabrocki.

There is no organization that does more to help the needy of the Southland, in my opinion.

It was founded by Loraine Cook, an Oak Forest woman I have written about often in years past.

On dozens of occasions throughout the years, I have had someone call me in a moment of crisis seeking help to pay a utility bill or find a place to sleep for a few nights.

I always refer them to Together We Cope, and the organization has always been there to help.

I realize $90 is a lot to ask in this economy, but Together We Cope would welcome donations of smaller amounts.

“If it weren’t for those small donations over the past year, I don’t know what we would have done,” Straniero told me. “It’s average people who have helped to keep our doors open.”

You can find out more information about the organization on its website, togetherwecope.org, or by calling (708) 633-5040.

The organization is always in the market for food donations such as peanut butter and jelly, cereal, canned fruit and vegetables, tuna, one-pound bags of rice and pasta and noodles.

The organization also provides winter clothes for families in need, and there always seems to be a shortage of coats in children’s sizes.

Together We Cope sells what it can’t use in its Nu2u resale shop to raise money for its programs.

While there are some paid staff members, the organization relies heavily on volunteers.

So if you can’t donate money but feel the urge to help, you can always donate some time.

I doubt the fellows who vandalized the Together We Cope truck had any idea of the damage they were doing to the community. They probably wouldn’t care, anyway.

But if they or their families ever needed help, Together We Cope would be there for them.

That’s what Loraine Cook would have wanted. And that’s been the tradition at Together We Cope for 30 years.