Squash travels from field to the Food Depository

More than 20 volunteers came together this Saturday to harvest five acres of butternut and acorn squash in McHenry County. The effort is one of the creative ways the Greater Chicago Food Depository is accessing food as rising costs have led to reduced supply. Thanks to a farmer who is donating the crops, the Food Depository has been able to harvest tons of sweet corn and squash this fall. We collected more than 32,000 pounds on Saturday alone. In coming days, volunteers will bag and sort the squash and distribute it to pantries, soup kitchens and shelters across Cook County.

UPDATE: Here are more photos from Saturday:

Come rain, shine or snow, we have a mission to achieve

That's part of the Food Depository staff you see setting up for a Producemobile distribution at True Vine in Dixmoor, IL. We distributed apples, lettuce, beans, carrots and bread, among other things.

Today was our quarterly Employee Day, which also doubled as our fiscal year-end celebration. Part of that is getting out into the community and volunteering. Sometimes, some of us are in the offices a lot, so this is an amazing opportunity to get our hands dirty (sometimes literally) and really experience what we do and interact with the people we serve every day.

What was special about this distribution--one of four the Food Depository staff participated in today throughout Chicago--was that it was raining. It wasn't some kind of magical rain or anything, but rather that we were out there, still providing food to those in need. Come rain, shine or snow, we have a mission and we're going to achieve it.

If there's one thing I took from today, it's the outstanding commitment of everyone here at the Food Depository.

UPDATE: Here are a few more photos from other locations.