Thieves steal catalytic converters from trucks at 4 KIDS Sake Food Pantry in Bolingbrook

BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (WLS) — The catalytic converters were stolen off a south suburban food pantry’s trucks, Bolingbrook police said Friday.

Police were called to 4 KIDS Sake Food Pantry and Enrichment Center at 339 Remington Boulevard just after 6:30 a.m. on Friday. The reason for the call was the theft of two catalytic converters.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Police said they don’t have any leads on who might have committed the crime.

The food pantry reported that their box trucks were parked on their dock and in the front parking lot during the overnight hours between 7 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday. It was during this time that the catalytic converters were stolen.

RELATED: School district cancels classes after school bus catalytic converter theft, district says

They said the incident might affect upcoming food distribution, as they assess the cost of the damage.

The pantry serves over 100 people.

Theresa Grzenia, the founder and CEO of 4 KIDS Sake, expressed her disappointment, saying, “I started this organization at the age of 17 with the intention of helping people. Engaging in various community assistance activities, it is disheartening when incidents like this occur, as it makes it challenging to regain positivity and momentum.”

The pantry said they are looking at security footage to try to identify any possible suspects, but asked for the public’s help providing information about the thefts.

“We do food recovery pick-ups Monday through Saturday. It allows us to get most fresh items for our clients,” Grzenia said. “We have the backup truck to be able to give us that backup if something happens, if the truck is in for repairs, things like that. Come to find out when he made his way to the other side of the building, that one was damaged as well.”

Bolingbrook police said there was also a catalytic converter theft in the 200-block of Remington in the same time period.

“Just ask them, why? Why they felt the need to do this? I don’t know,” volunteer Ed Danley said.

Now, these volunteers’ efforts to help their community will have to cease for a couple of days, as the non-profit charity that gets most of its funds from fundraising is forced into limbo.

“It’s definitely disheartening. We’re not sure if insurance is going to cover everything, what the timeline is going to be, if we need rental trucks, how long are they going to be out for?” Grzenia said.