St. Charles hot sauce maker Gindo’s Spice of Life and the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry have announced they are again collaborating to develop a community hot sauce as a fundraiser for the pantry.
And once again, area gardeners can get involved by donating their excess pepper crop to be processed by Gindo’s into the special hot sauce.
The local producer of well over 400 flavors of hot sauce launched the first collaborative effort back in 2023 with a sauce dubbed Fire on the Fox, which sold all of the roughly 250 bottles that were made and raised nearly $1,300 for the food pantry, Gindo’s officials said.
Company officials said the name of last year’s sauce called Fire on the Fox Vol 2 Hot 2 Handle proved to be prophetic in some respects as some consumers did, in fact, find it a bit too fiery.
Co-owners of Gindo’s, Mary and Chris Ginder of Batavia, acknowledged this year’s batch might have to be toned down a little.
“One of the things we realized is that we might have gone a little too spicy with it so we’re telling people we’d like peppers that are not as hot as well,” Chris Ginder said of this year’s call for pepper donations. “We made about 25 gallons of sauce two years ago and nearly 50 the second year.”
The community sauce project was the brainchild of Batavia resident Joe Hunt, who works for the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry and serves as a board member there.
A huge Gindo’s supporter, Hunt suggested a few years ago that a special hot sauce be made from local pepper donations.
Hunt said the food pantry continues to be grateful for the support offered by the fundraising project.
“I love it. The sauce project has definitely been picking up steam the past few years, doubling even the batch that we did last year,” Hunt said. “Last year, we raised about $1,800 and we’re hoping to raise more.”
Hunt said that “one of things I love about this project is that it reflects the essence of Batavia.”
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“It’s the community coming together to create this hot sauce which benefits the food pantry which, in turn, really supports local individuals who need access to food and clothing,” he said. “It’s been really an amazing project and really does help local families. Projects like these really make a difference and Batavia as a community really steps up to support the food pantry. This project is the peak of what Batavia is.”
Jaclyn King of Elburn, who works for the Ginders, said that selling the community-based hot sauce and giving back “are the best part of working here.”
“Supporting the farms and the people, it’s really what makes me want to stay here – all the work we do with all the farmers, the food pantry, the local businesses,” she said.
Hunt acknowledged last year’s batch was, in fact, a little too hot and officials are hoping more sweet peppers will be donated this time.
King agreed, saying “we definitely were (too hot) last year. I think everybody really likes hot peppers but last year they just had too much.”
“Everybody brought us really, really unique hot peppers, but it did make the batch a little too hot for most,” she said.
The Ginders say those buying the sauces the past two years have been using it to douse eggs, tacos, chili, quesadillas, pizza and more.
The community sauce will again be produced using excess peppers donated from the community which the Ginders say helps check a number of boxes.
“We get to make a product from things that are locally grown as well as investing in a local pantry,” Chris Ginder said.
The Ginders said there are no ideas yet regarding what the new fundraising sauce will be called.
“We don’t have an idea as yet. What we do is we grab the different ingredients that are donated and I make a sauce based on that,” Chris Ginder said. “I will probably name it based off of that.”
This should be a good year for pepper donations, Ginder said.
“The growing season seems to be going well,” Ginder said. “The dry conditions and rain and heat usually produces a good season. Once we get everything in, it takes about two or three weeks to create the sauce including the label and all the ingredient facts.”
There will be multiple opportunities to donate peppers including a window through Oct. 1 where peppers can be dropped of at Gindo’s Spice of Life at 2002 W. Main St. in St. Charles.
For those living in Batavia, a special drop-off is also scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Batavia Interfaith Food Pantry tent at the Batavia Farmers Market, which is open from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday on North River Street between Wilson and Spring streets.
.Residents are asked to clean and de-stem peppers and place them in large, labeled zipper bags for drop off.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.