52 Stories, 52 Weeks: Giving back

Michael Mooney has been volunteering at St. Ignatius Church's Food Pantry since 2001.

With more than 860,000 people in Cook County struggling to find food, there are countless stories to tell. The Greater Chicago Food Depository is striving to tell 52 stories of the people we serve in 52 weeks.

From fixing helicopters in the Army to volunteering in his community, Michael Mooney has lived a life of service.

Michael, 53, served in the Army as a helicopter mechanic during Desert Storm. He returned to Chicago in 2001 unable to work because of an injury and needed help making ends meet.

“I just wasn’t able to make it to the end of the month,” he said. “I just didn’t have the money to buy enough food.”

Michael found assistance at the St. Ignatius Church’s food pantry, a Greater Chicago Food Depository member agency in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Michael started coming regularly, receiving fresh fruit, vegetables and groceries from the pantry.

He soon realized how valuable the agency was to the community and decided to volunteer. Twelve years later, Michael rarely uses the pantry, but continues to volunteer on Wednesdays and Fridays.

“For many, this pantry is the difference between being hungry and feeding your family. I’m glad to be part of making a difference,” Michael said.

The pantry serves nearly 600 families per month and is open Wednesdays 2-4 p.m. and Fridays 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Food Depository grant helps agency connect kids with meals

The van transports 30 children per day across gang lines to and from New Mount Calvary's summer program.

New Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in West Englewood – a Greater Chicago Food Depository agency – is making a difference in children’s lives this summer, one van ride at a time.

The church received a $5,000 grant from the Food Depository in partnership with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Illinois program last summer. The funds went to the upkeep of a van that New Mount Calvary uses to safely transport about 30 children across gang lines to and from the church’s summer program, which provides a nutritious breakfast and lunch, plus constructive activities.

 “Our goal is to keep kids off the streets and to feed them as well. There’s definitely a great need,” said Yolanda Morris, children’s program coordinator.

The van serves children in West Englewood, Englewood and Chicago Lawn, and overall the program has seen about 150 children this summer.

“We provide the vision for the child to see something different, but without the Greater Chicago Food Depository, we would not be able to do that,” Yolanda said. “We protect the children and help them get home safely, and we’re only able to do that because of extraordinary sponsors.”

52 Stories, 52 Weeks: Filling in the gaps

Dave Blakeman, right, loads bags full of fresh fruits and vegetables into his cart at a Producemobile distribution in Richton Park. (Photo By Charlie Westerman/Greater Chicago Food Depository)

With more than 860,000 people in Cook County struggling to find food, there are countless stories to tell. The Greater Chicago Food Depository is striving to tell 52 stories of the people we serve in 52 weeks.

Dave Blakeman, 53, always loved tinkering, inventing and fixing things. He was an engineer for 30 years, until he was diagnosed with colon cancer two years ago.

“I never expected to go from having a full-time job to living day-to-day, wondering how I was going to feed my family,” he said.

Dave is currently undergoing treatment and can no longer work. He is quickly spending his savings paying medical bills and taking care of his family in Frankfort Square, a southern suburb. It’s a struggle for Dave to pay for food, especially fresh fruit and vegetables.

He gets apples, oranges, bananas, onions, and corn from the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s Producemobile distribution in Richton Park.

“This definitely fills in the gaps,” Dave said. “I have a wife and two boys at home and with this food I know they’ll get the nutrition they need.”

As for Dave’s penchant for engineering? He hasn’t given it up despite being unable to work.

“I recently found some parts for a remote controlled plane, and fixed one up,” he said, smiling. “I fly it around the backyard. It keeps me occupied.”

The Greater Chicago Food Depository’s Producemobile delivers food to people in need all year long. In Fiscal Year 2012-13, one-third of the Food Depository’s distribution was fresh fruits and vegetables.

Donate to the Food Depository and make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in our community.

52 Stories, 52 Weeks: Food or bills?

Pearline Hudson, 62, gets supplemental food from the St. James Food Pantry.

With more than 860,000 people in Cook County struggling to find food each day, there are countless stories to tell. Starting this week, the Greater Chicago Food Depository is striving to tell 52 stories of the people we serve in 52 weeks.

“Do I eat or do I pay my medical bills?”

That’s a question 62-year-old Pearline Hudson needed to face after being diagnosed with breast cancer recently. Pearline is quickly using up her savings paying medical bills and can’t afford to buy all the food she needs.

“I have so many medical bills so right now I’m kind of struggling,” she said.

But, with the help of the St. James Food Pantry, a Greater Chicago Food Depository agency in the Douglas neighborhood, Pearline can focus on getting better and not worry about where she’s going to get her next meal. Pearline has been getting fresh fruit, vegetables and meat from the pantry for the last five months.

“Despite my situation, I make sure to stay positive,” she said. “Places like (St. James) help me have a better quality of life.”

Pearline is not alone. St. James pantry coordinator Cathy Moore said the agency has seen an increase over the last few months in the number of older adults it serves.

“Our overall clients have leveled out, but we continue to see more older adults coming in needing food assistance,” she said.

The pantry serves more than 1,500 families per month.

“There are other people here who have problems like mine, but you just have to look at it in a positive light and go from there,” Pearline said.

See more stories of those affected by hunger on Facebook. Please consider donating to the Greater Chicago Food Depository as we strive to end hunger in Cook County.

US House rejects SNAP cuts

The Greater Chicago Food Depository's SNAP Outreach team helped 3,037 clients apply for SNAP benefits in Fiscal Year 2011-12.

By Doug Schenkelberg

The US House of Representatives voted June 20 to reject the proposed $20.5 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by voting against the Farm Bill. As we laid out earlier this week, the Farm Bill, which sets federal policy for both agriculture and food and nutrition programs, was advancing to the floor of the House with several policy changes that would reduce benefits for thousands of food insecure households in Cook County. During the floor debate on the bill, several other amendments were added that would have further cut SNAP and other important food and nutrition programs.

Greater Chicago Food Depository advocates made a difference. All Cook County members of Congress voted to reject the cuts to SNAP and protect families facing food insecurity. They heard from their constituents that fighting hunger is important to them and they listened.

It is unclear at this time what the next steps for the Farm Bill will be. The current extension of the 2008 Farm Bill goes until September 30. Congress could choose to extend the 2008 Farm Bill again as they restart the process of writing a new Farm Bill, or they could regroup quickly and attempt to get a new bill completed before the deadline. We expect that the threat to critical nutrition programs has not gone away. We will continue to monitor these issues and work together to end hunger in our community.

How could the Farm Bill affect SNAP?

The Farm Bill threatens to cut up to $20.5 billion from SNAP. (Photo By Charlie Westerman/Greater Chicago Food Depository)

By Doug Schenkelberg, Greater Chicago Food Depository Vice President of Advocacy and Outreach

Right now, Congress is debating the Farm Bill, a piece of legislation that is critical to how our nation addresses the needs of families facing hunger. The Farm Bill is a federal act that sets policy and funding for two different areas. The first is agriculture. The second is the food and nutrition safety net. These two areas have been paired together since the creation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP – formerly known as food stamps) was created in the 1960’s. As of 2011, there were more than 913,000 SNAP users in Cook County.

The House of Representatives’ version of the Farm Bill contains a steep cut to SNAP - $20.5 billion over 10 years. Their version eliminates a provision of SNAP referred to as “Categorical Eligibility.” Broadly speaking, this provision reduces red tape and simplifies access to needed programs for households facing food insecurity. In total, the reductions proposed in the House Farm Bill would cut 2 million individuals from the program nationally. The Senate's version of the bill includes $4.5 billion in SNAP cuts over 10 years.

The House of Representatives will start debating its version of the Farm Bill this week. Over 200 potential amendments have been filed that would change the bill, including amendments that would either increase or decrease the cuts to SNAP.

The Greater Chicago Food Depository opposes the proposed cuts to SNAP. Food banks and our partners in the community do not have the resources to fill in the gap that would be created by a weakening of the federal food and nutrition safety net. There are 860,670 people in Cook County who are food insecure, meaning they don't know where their next meal will come from. We have seen a 77 percent increase in pantry visits since 2008 and have unfortunately seen no signs of that demand waning. Cuts to SNAP would only create greater hardship to families in need.

Your member of Congress needs to hear from you that they should not support a Farm Bill with cuts to SNAP. Please call today. Make your voice heard!

Food insecurity on the rise

Food insecurity continues to reach record highs.

Data released by Feeding America on June 10, 2013 shows a significant increase in the number of food insecure people in Cook County. According to the 2011 data, 860,670 people are unsure where their next meal will come from.

That’s up more than 50,000 individuals from previous data. 

“Hunger is persistent in our community. For hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, finding food is a daily struggle,” said Kate Maehr, Greater Chicago Food Depository Executive Director and CEO. “As economists and policy makers point to signs of recovery, this new data is a humbling reminder of just how difficult times are for many people in Cook County.”

The new data, from Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap 2013 study, represents an increase of about 6.5 percent from 2010. Previously, there were 807,000 food insecure individuals in the county. It also shows there were 262,240 food insecure children in Cook County.

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle for all household members and limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods.

It might be difficult to comprehend a number as large as 860,670. But when broken down, it means 1 in 6 of our neighbors are food insecure. One of those individuals is 42-year-old William Barnett.

After being laid off from his job as a truck driver, he is now awaiting hernia surgery and cannot work. He receives $300 per month in Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. He must try to support his wife, who also can’t work, and his two daughters.

To make ends meet, he supplements the food he buys on his Link card with food from the Union Avenue UMC Food Pantry in Canaryville, a Greater Chicago Food Depository agency.

On a recent Wednesday morning, he waited in line to pick out fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and canned goods. There were about 20 people in line, but he knows there could be many more.

“A lot of families have too much pride to come here,” he said.

In the face of increasing need, the Food Depository distributed 64 million pounds of food last year to people just like William Barnett through its network of 650 programs, including more than 400 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.

The Food Depository is working to end hunger in our community, but we cannot do this alone. Please consider a donation, volunteering or advocating on behalf of the 1 in 6 of our neighbors who do not know where their next meal will come from.