Hybrid vehicle added to fleet

The Food Depository's first-ever hybrid vehicle will hit the road tomorrow. As part of Goal 5 of our 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, we have emphasized implementing environmentally sustainable practices. The truck was donated by the Emilio and Silvio Troianello Trust and the Koropp family. It will be on the road Thursday, delivering meals to Kids Cafes.

A Taste of the Lunch Bus: The End

The summer has rolled by with increasing speed this year; June slipped almost unnoticed into July, July scurried into August, and it is now September and children are preparing to go back to school, if they haven’t returned already. The days of dancing in fire hydrants, catching fireflies and chasing the ice cream truck are numbered, and so are my days aboard the Lunch Bus. Today is the final day of the Lunch Bus City Route. The South Suburban Route ended two weeks ago, and the desk my fellow intern used to occupy has sat empty for the past 10 days reminding me that soon my papers will be cleared off and my desk will await the new Lunch Bus intern next year.

I have definitely gotten my own taste of the hunger and nutrition problems in the city this summer. I remember children like Jerome Fears at Back of the Yards who told me all about the new McFlurry he tried, but asked what a plum was, and Bruce Thomas whose favorite restaurant is Burger King, but had never tried bell peppers before. As an intern, I often worried about the day to day: whether we had chocolate milk, how many meals I could give out at each site and if kids would enjoy the food that day. But as the summer comes to an end, I realize we did more than just hand out lunches; we gave mothers a chance to save some much needed money, and fed kids at least one nutritious meal per day.

Each site has a different reaction to the announcement that Friday will be the final day. The kids at the Wabash YMCA asked if I was going to bring cake. At Back of the Yards it came as no surprise, as they thought the last day would be a few weeks ago. And at Our Lady of Good Counsel, the Castaneda family with eight kids went back to school on Aug. 29, so they said their goodbyes last week and asked if I would be back next year.

It will, in fact, be a new intern as I am heading down to Washington DC to take grad school classes and work in Public Affairs for the Department of Transportation. And, although someone new will be handing out sandwiches and checking off meal counts next year, I will never forget my summer on the Lunch Bus.

Allison Lantero is the City Route Lunch Bus intern at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The Lunch Bus returned in June, expanding its city and South Suburban routes to include a total of 15 sites across Cook County. Throughout the summer months the program will distribute approximately 15,000 meals reimbursed by the Illinois Board of Education. With the help of Food Depository interns and volunteers, the Lunch Bus visits sites in underserved neighborhoods to deliver healthy food directly to children. The Food Depository identified priority areas for the Lunch Bus based on the Running on Empty study of child hunger, released in 2010.

A Taste of the Lunch Bus: Little Helpers

Last week, the Lunch Bus served 112 kids at the Miami Park site alone. So far, that is the record number served at any site on the City Suburban route—and is a milestone for the program. Some sites such as the Salvation Army in Little Village, has quadrupled in size since June, with more than 60 children served every day. With numbers this high, it can be difficult for me to enforce the rule that children must eat on site and keep the area clean, while also handing out lunches.

Recently, I haven’t had to worry about enforcing these rules alone. The children who visit the Lunch Bus regularly are incredibly willing to help. In fact, the minute we drive up to St. Pancratius, a group of kids asks to help unload the lunches. Whether they are naturally helpful, or just really hungry, their offers are much appreciated. Later, as I am packing up to leave and collecting garbage, my helpers will often spring into action again. This is especially noticeable at Miami Park, where Michelle and her sister Jasmine will jump up and climb under playground equipment to grab trash I hadn’t even seen. My helpers make my job much easier, but I am not the only one the kids assist.

At Back of the Yards, I noticed Rori would stop at Asia and Daeveon’s house before coming over to the park. Asia and “Dae Dae” are too young to cross the street by themselves, but Rori makes sure that the siblings get their lunches every day.

Many siblings help their younger brothers and sisters write their names if they are too young to use a pen. Christian is one such older brother at Miami Park. After he writes his and his siblings’ names, he often comes and sits in the grass by my table. When there is a long line, it’s difficult to hand out lunches and keep tabs on the exit. Suddenly, Christian will be at my side. “Their trying to leave,” he whispers, pointing to a group of kids sneaking out the exit. I explain they have to eat lunch at the park, and they turn back to the benches. When I asked him why he was helping me enforce the rules he said, as if it were obvious, “Because I want the Lunch Bus to keep coming for everybody.”

Allison Lantero is the City Route Lunch Bus intern at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The Lunch Bus returned in June, expanding its city and South Suburban routes to include a total of 15 sites across Cook County. Throughout the summer months the program will distribute approximately 25,000 meals reimbursed by the Illinois Board of Education. With the help of Food Depository interns and volunteers, the Lunch Bus visits sites in underserved neighborhoods to deliver healthy food directly to children. The Food Depository identified priority areas for the Lunch Bus based on the Running on Empty study of child hunger, released in 2010.

Taste of the Lunch Bus: Wabash YMCA

A traditional lunch begins at noon, and that is when the Lunch Bus rolls into the parking lot beside the Wabash YMCA near U.S. Cellular Field. We set up under a small tree in the middle of the lot, and wait for the children to come running down the street. They come from houses in the neighborhood, a summer school program down the street, and sometimes even the YMCA itself.

Today, some of our first customers were the Willis kids, 5-year-old Brandon and 8-year-old Carlyn, who always sprint down the sidewalk, regardless of whether or not they are late. Brandon usually brings his action figures, and, like many of the other kids, celebrates the days chocolate milk is on the menu. After visiting the Lunch Bus the first few days of summer, they soon invited their neighbors to join them.

Bruce Thomas, age 3, cannot write his name, so his sister Anaya comes to the front of the line to help, then returns to her spot. Bruce takes his lunch at sits behind me, and every once in a while I will get a tug on my shirt. Looking up at me with his big brown eyes, Bruce asks, “Can you do this for me?” and offers me a bag of animal crackers or a package of strawberries. Young Reggenia, his sister, doesn’t know her last name, but does know she loves applesauce. She loves it so much that she dances around with the cup, and about half the container winds up on her shirt by the end of lunch.

A day-care program started stopping by the Lunch Bus with a mini-van full of kids ranging in age from 2 to 13. The oldest is Jake who is very selective in his food choices. Once he sees what the lunch is for the day, he conducts an auction of the things he doesn’t like, such as milk, to trade for what he does, like apples or Baked Doritos. “He’s going to be quite the businessman,” one of my volunteer drivers remarked.

Recently, the Thomas family returned from a trip to visit family. The minute they saw the Lunch Bus they rushed down the sidewalk to tell me they were back. Bruce then looked up at me and asked, “So what’s for lunch?”

Allison Lantero is the City Route Lunch Bus intern at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The Lunch Bus returned in June, expanding its city and South Suburban routes to include a total of 15 sites across Cook County. Throughout the summer months the program will distribute approximately 25,000 meals reimbursed by the Illinois Board of Education. With the help of Food Depository interns and volunteers, the Lunch Bus visits sites in underserved neighborhoods to deliver healthy food directly to children. The Food Depository identified priority areas for the Lunch Bus based on the Running on Empty study of child hunger, released in 2010.

A taste of the Lunch Bus: Our Lady of Good Counsel

On a shady corner besides the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel in McKinley Park, the streets are quiet and lined with well-kept houses with the odd bicycle or scooter parked outside. It is here that the Lunch Bus stops at 12:45 p.m. each weekday to provide meals for the children in the area. At first it was the slowest stop, with just one little girl from across the street coming out each day. Gaby and I would have lunch together.

Two weeks in, word finally got out. One family with nine children began arriving each day in a large black van. The family would pile out and, after politely accepting their lunches, would sit together on the steps near the church to eat. Then a babysitter brought the two children she watches, Mia and Liam. Mia is two years old and learning both Spanish and English. “Manana!” she says as she rolls away in her stroller each afternoon. Ricardo and his sister Nubia also come often, always smiling and asking me how I am.

Lastly, the Napoleon family became Lunch Bus regulars. Each day Alyssa and her brothers, Jared and Jaden, sprint down the block when they see the Lunch Bus. On July 22, lunch included watermelon and celery. The Napoleons were excited for the fresh produce. “They love fruit,” their mother explained. “Once every two weeks the local grocery store has a 10 for $10 sale on fruit, and they keep track of when it is for me.” Alyssa smiled at me with her watermelon-juice lips, “Will there be more food like this next week?”

Allison Lantero is the City Route Lunch Bus intern at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The Lunch Bus returned in June, expanding its city and South Suburban routes to include a total of 15 sites across Cook County. Throughout the summer months the program will distribute approximately 15,000 meals reimbursed by the Illinois Board of Education. With the help of Food Depository interns and volunteers, the Lunch Bus visits sites in underserved neighborhoods to deliver healthy food directly to children. The Food Depository identified priority areas for the Lunch Bus based on the Running on Empty study of child hunger, released in 2010.

A Taste of the Lunch Bus: Observations from A Lunch Bus Intern

When working with kids, you never know what to expect. As a former waitress I have witnessed everything from temper tantrums over chocolate milk to children who seemed like miniature adults. When I was offered the position of Lunch Bus intern at the Greater Chicago Food Depository this summer, I had no idea what to expect. I had fed kids before, but not kids who may not have had breakfast; not kids who might not eat lunch at all without me.

Many children in the city go without regular meals when school is out for the summer. Maybe they are home alone all day and do not have food in the house. Maybe their parents are out of work and can only provide a meal or two per day. Whatever the reason, no child is at fault for his or her hunger. It was this that drew me to the Lunch Bus. Recently graduated from a university committed to a tradition of community service, I loved the idea of sharing my time and energy with these kids.

On my first day, the first four stops were very slow, some with no children at all. I was devastated and confused. Where were all the children? What was the point of spending my summer giving out meals when no one even showed up? I got my answer at the sixth stop. As we rounded the corner to Miami Park in Little Village, there they were. Droves of children were playing on the playground, but the moment they saw the Lunch Bus with the Food Depository logo, a cheer went up and a line immediately formed. The children were all smiles as they scribbled their names on the sign-in sheet. No one fought in line, and they were excited to try the new food. As we prepared to travel to our next stop, Ms. Dixon, the volunteer driver helping me that day, turned to me and said, “I told you they’d be there. They’ll all be like that pretty soon.”

Allison Lantero is the City Route Lunch Bus intern at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The Lunch Bus returned in June, expanding its city and South Suburban routes to include a total of 15 sites across Cook County. Throughout the summer months the program will distribute approximately 15,000 meals reimbursed by the Illinois Board of Education. With the help of Food Depository interns and volunteers, the Lunch Bus visits sites in underserved neighborhoods to deliver healthy food directly to children. The Food Depository identified priority areas for the Lunch Bus based on the Running on Empty study of child hunger, released in 2010.

Nourishing our future: Congress faces critical step after Thanksgiving

Yesterday, I watched as a group of Kindergarten and first graders took turns reading aloud “Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do you See?” The children, most of them students at Clinton Elementary school in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood, were eager to show off their reading skills and kept raising their hands for a turn, squealing “teacher, teacher!” Except it wasn’t a teacher who was reading with them—it was Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (in photo, left) who had come out to visit a Kids Cafe to better understand the reality of hunger in America, a reality that unfolds every day in our own backyard.

Midway through the visit, the Congresswoman leaned over and told me that she had started her own schooling at Clinton. We watched as the children ate their meals and then turned their attention to homework and reading. We watched as the initial excitement of getting their food and milk cartons gave way to the focus and quiet of young minds concentrating.

When members of Congress return to Washington after the Thanksgiving break, they will have many important decisions awaiting them. One of the biggest is the Child Nutrition Reauthorization, which provides funding for school breakfasts, school lunches and programs like the Kids Cafe in the West Ridge. The latest statistics released by the USDA are stunning: There are now 17 million children in our nation who are food insecure. Stated differently, 1 out of 4 children in America is at risk of hunger. Passing the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act is a critical step to making sure that all of America’s children have access to food.

This Thanksgiving, I will think about standing in a Kids Cafe, watching 35 of those 17 million children. And I will hope that our country’s leaders will come back from break and pass the Child Nutrition Reauthorization and ensure that food flows out to communities like this. If children have access to nutritious food, they are more likely to be strong readers and successful students. They are more likely to move on from reading “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” to more challenging work, eventually graduating, perhaps going on to college and being well-prepared for the workforce. Who knows—maybe some of these children will even go on, someday, to be members of Congress.