Why I Advocate: Kate Maehr

From left to right, Jody Blaylock, Kate Maehr, Kamil Walton, Ulondia Johnson and Suzy Lee, outside Rep. Robin Kelly's office on Capitol Hill. 

In the Why I Advocate blog series, three individuals who joined Greater Chicago Food Depository staff and other advocates at the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference explained what motivated them. In the conclusion of the series, Kate Maehr, Food Depository executive director and CEO, describes her experiences on the trip.

More than any other year, I was absolutely inspired and amazed by my experience at the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference this past week. The Food Depository brought almost 30 advocates to the conference – the largest group we’ve ever assembled. It was incredible to see the group learning about advocacy and brainstorming better ways to serve those in need. But on Tuesday, one brave act struck me as the defining moment of our trip.

I was joined by Ulondia Johnson, a Food Depository advocate from a South Side member agency, in our meeting with Rep. Robin Kelly’s staff on Capitol Hill. Ulondia and the rest of the advocates were asked to bring a few client stories with them to the meetings to share with lawmakers. Instead of telling a client story, Ulondia told her own story.

Ulondia is a single mother living in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood and was making her first trip to Washington. She has struggled with hunger intermittently for years and currently is the assistant lead teacher and cook at the Golden Gate Day Care Center. She also receives SNAP. Her life has been a constant battle to take care of her children and afford food. As she told her story to Rep. Kelly’s staff, she began to cry.

“I have experienced hunger,” she said. “It’s hard when you don’t have enough to eat.”

Ulondia was incredibly brave to tell her story to total strangers. To me, her courage defines what the trip to Washington is all about: raising our voice. Ulondia raised her voice using her own story to make a lasting impact. On Tuesday, 30 Food Depository advocates collectively raised their voice in Washington, D.C.

Whether it was with stories, statistics or personal experiences, our message is clear and it is strong: no one should go hungry in our community.

Read the other entries in the Why I Advocate series here.

Why I Advocate: Kamil Walton

Nearly 30 anti-hunger advocates from the Greater Chicago Food Depository and member agencies are joining more than 900 other advocates in Washington, D.C. for the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference. They are learning about advocacy best practices and meeting with Cook County lawmakers. In the “Why I Advocate” series, members of the group explain what motivates them.

Kamil Walton is the Homeless Prevention Manager at the Ford Heights Community Service Organization, a Food Depository member agency in the South Suburbs.

In Ford Heights, the food insecurity rate is 36 percent. That means slightly more than 1 in 3 people are hungry. That’s a staggering number, but it’s also our neighbors, friends and family. I see that need on a day-to-day basis, but it has never been as evident as it has this winter.

Despite the frigid temperatures, people in the community have still been coming to the pantry and our soup kitchen regularly. We served more than 270 individuals in January at the food pantry and 580 meals in our soup kitchen last month. Some, including older adults, brave the elements because they are struggling and it’s not an option to miss a pantry distribution.

And, a number of the people we see have jobs. So many are walking on what I call a “financial cliff.” They have a job but they still qualify for SNAP benefits. Then, when they get a second job or a raise, they lose their benefits entirely and again struggle to afford food. It’s a difficult, frustrating cycle. While I’m in Washington, I hope to be the voice of those people. I want lawmakers to know that there is a gap in support for the struggling working class. This gap must be filled.

Ultimately, I want lawmakers to know that even in Chicago, in Cook County, there is need. And it stretches all the way from Schaumburg, to as far south as Ford Heights.

For more from Washington, D.C. read our live blog of the trip and follow the Food Depository on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for pictures, insight, live updates and more.

Why I Advocate: Sarah Greenberg

Nearly 30 anti-hunger advocates from the Greater Chicago Food Depository and member agencies are joining more than 900 other advocates in Washington, D.C. for the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference. They are learning about advocacy best practices and meeting with Cook County lawmakers. In the “Why I Advocate” series, members of the group explain what motivates them.

Sarah Greenberg is the Health Programming and Pantry Coordinator at EZRA Multi-Service Center, a Food Depository member agency in Uptown.

A woman who regularly comes to EZRA recently told me her story. She had been doing fine financially, until she was diagnosed with a chronic illness. Paying for medical bills drained her savings and she quickly realized she did not have enough money for food every week. In search of a solution, she came to EZRA. She started receiving food at the pantry and our Uptown Cafe program and she now has enough food while receiving treatment and paying bills. Hers is a story of success and overcoming obstacles. It’s also a story of how anyone can fall on hard times and need emergency food assistance.

Everyone has a story. I’m in Washington at the Anti-Hunger Policy Conference because I want to learn the best ways to tell those client stories to lawmakers so that they can truly understand the kind of need we see in our community every day. Facts and figures are certainly important, but putting a human face on hunger is what can really move people and can really make a difference.

Similarly, I want to learn how to get clients more involved with advocacy efforts. Client stories make an impact, but having a client tell his or her own story is even more moving. Our voice is strongest when we are united as a community. When we unite and tell the stories of those we serve, we can begin to create a community in which everyone has access to the food that they need.

For more from Washington, D.C. read our live blog of the trip and follow the Food Depository on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for pictures, insight, live updates and more.

Why I Advocate: Ronald Hargrave

Nearly 30 anti-hunger advocates from the Greater Chicago Food Depository and member agencies are joining more than 900 other advocates in Washington, D.C. for the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference. They are learning about advocacy best practices and meeting with Cook County lawmakers. In the “Why I Advocate” series, members of the group explain what motivates them.

Ronald Hargrave is the Outreach Case Manager at St. Vincent De Paul Center, a Greater Chicago Food Depository member agency in Lincoln Park.

In the past few years, I’ve seen the face of hunger change. More and more, the people coming to the St. Vincent De Paul Center on the North Side are people who have lost their jobs. They’re older adults who are on a fixed income. They’re people deciding between paying for medicine and buying food. They’re struggling to afford food on a day-to-day basis.

All those people have had a different road to the food pantry. But, there’s one thing they have in common: the need for nutritious food. Too many times I’ve heard people at the pantry say that after rent, utilities, other bills and living expenses, they barely have enough money for food, let alone nutritious food.

We receive fresh fruit and vegetables through the Food Depository’s Food Rescue program and that’s a huge part of getting nutritious food into our community. But we also need to speak for our neighbors in need. We need lawmakers to know about the 78-year-old woman with a $1,200 per month pension who doesn’t qualify for SNAP and who can’t afford fresh produce. We need to let them know that access to healthy, nutritious food is a basic human right, and anything less is unacceptable. 

For more from Washington, D.C. read our live blog of the trip and follow the Food Depository on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for pictures, insight, live updates and more.