Blog

Food heist highlights need
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
By: Kate Maehr

Economic woes breed desperation

These are indeed desperate times. As layoffs, foreclosures and evictions mount, more and more people are doing what they can to get food — by any means necessary.

My friend Augie told me this story yesterday. A woman that Augie knows from church was coming home one recent evening after going to the grocery store. As she was approaching her house, a man walked up and pointed a gun at her. “I don’t want your money and I don’t want to hurt you,” he told her. All he wanted was her groceries. The woman gave him the groceries and he walked away.

Real magic
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
By: Kate Maehr

Food pantries, shelters are the magicians

I had the honor yesterday of eating lunch with individuals served by one of the agencies that partners with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. This agency, a homeless shelter for men, was filled to capacity, a sign not only of the cold, snowy weather outside, but also the times. The men told stories of lost jobs and lost homes, of searching for work without success. They also told more complicated stories—stories that might make you feel less charitable even though it is the holiday season, tales of time spent in prison, gang affiliation, gambling and years spent abusing drugs and alcohol.

So much of the attention we have received during the past 12 months has been on those who are new to our network: retirees who, despite having lived through the Depression, had never had to turn to a food pantry until now. Or middle-class suburban residents who have been squeezed by high prices and low wages. The agencies that partner with the Food Depository have certainly seen their share of these individuals during the past year. We know that part of the 34 percent increase in client visits we have seen is coming from individuals and families who, before this year, never needed food assistance. It breaks our hearts—and probably scares us a bit, too—as we look at the faces and the headlines and think “could that be me???”

The men having lunch at the shelter yesterday seem so different from me. Their faces reflect harder days and nights than I can possibly imagine, weathered by the elements; most, after all, have been living on the streets. Some are mentally ill and others physically frail. Most have been receiving food from the Food Depository’s member agencies for years, rather than months, as they have struggled with a lifetime of poverty.

Waiting in line for lunch, I met Cliff, or, as he calls himself, “the magician.” With a big grin, he offered to show me a few of his magic tricks. I braced myself, not sure if what I was about to experience would be awkward card tricks, an attempt to win a quarter from me or a silly attempt to charm a visitor. Cliff asked me to hold my right hand out. In it he inserted one bright red foam ball and he asked me to clench my fist tightly. As I did so, I looked around at the men watching. They were a ragged lot, shoes and clothes worn from a life on the streets. And they watched intently as Cliff waved his hand over my fist and proceeded to pull out the foam ball from my hand—and then another ball, and another. For several more minutes, he amazed us with his tricks. "Magic," he said, smiling.

When I got back to my office after lunch, I went to Wikipedia and looked up “magic.” The entry read “a performing art that entertains an audience by creating illusions of seemingly impossible feats.” Looking out my window at the falling snow, I thought about the neighborhood pantries serving men, women and children who needed food for the very first time in their lives. And I thought about the shelters and soup kitchens that every day serve individuals who are trying to rebuild lives that have been broken over decades. This last group hasn’t made many of the headlines this year; it isn’t the population that so easily pulls at our heartstrings. And yet, the men I visited yesterday need food, too, and, thanks to an amazing network of shelters and kitchens across the county, they are getting it. Maybe that is the real magic in this world—the “seemingly impossible feat” that happens every single day, even without our knowing it.

A day to be thankful
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
By: Kate Maehr

President-elect's visit is humbling

I have much to be thankful for today. The sun shone brightly, despite the cold. Our distributions across Cook County moved smoothly, despite the fact that they were at near-record levels for a Wednesday in November. The food arrived on the shipping dock, despite the challenges that are impacting our partners in the food industry. People called wanting to know about volunteering their time, despite the fact that life is busier than ever. 

Many in our community will remember today as the day that President-elect Barack Obama, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Sasha and Malia joined the Greater Chicago Food Depository for a food distribution at St. Columbanus Church in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood of Chicago. I am thankful for that, too. I am humbled that, with all that our future president has on his plate, he is keeping the hunger issue front and center for himself and his family and the world.  I am so thankful for partners like St. Columbanus and pantry director LaVerne Morris and for our other network members who, day in and day out (even when there are no celebrities present) continue to get the food out to those in need.

Because of the response of this community, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children will be able to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.  But, more importantly, next Monday when we prepare to go back to work and school, the food will continue to flow out to those in need. And that is what I am most thankful for. Thanks to everyone in this community from President-elect Obama to LaVerne Morris at St. Columbanus for helping us feed hungry people today and every day.

Where do I start?
Friday, November 21, 2008
By: Kate Maehr

Unprecedented need is overwhelming

Several folks have asked me why I haven't posted on the blog lately. It isn't that I've been too busy, although this certainly is the time of year when all of us at the Food Depository are running at full speed. It isn't that I have lost interest or have run out of things to say. The truth of the matter is that each night, as I've sat down at my computer, I simply don't know what to say.

Where do I start? Do I tell you about the 150 phone calls we received on Monday from individuals who needed food? Or do I tell you about the 160 phone calls we received on Tuesday? Do I tell you about the conversations with agencies that are scared—really scared—because they have never seen need like this? Do I tell you the details of our team working around the clock in order to deploy emergency Mobile Pantries into communities where the need is not being met? Do I describe the looks of panic, guilt, fear, embarrassment, anger and sorrow I see on the faces of people lined up at a pantry waiting for food?
 
I don't know where to start, so today I'll keep with the facts. There has been a 33 percent increase in the number of people showing up at pantries in Cook County. Nearly every pantry we've talked to said they are seeing people who have recently become unemployed. And almost every pantry is reporting an influx of first-time clients. Ninety percent of our pantry partners say the increased demand is "stressing" their operations. (I probably don't have to tell you that these are operations that were already, by most definitions, stressed.)
 
So, those are the facts. It's bad. Really bad. Every day I search for the hope on the landscape, and if you squint your eyes, you see it—in the food drive donations that are beginning to trickle in, the donors giving whatever they can. And in the faces of thousands of pantry volunteers, who despite long odds, are opening their doors and making magic happen.

4 Lessons I Learned Yesterday
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
By: Kate Maehr

Valuable, enlightening information after just two days in the Challenge.

1. A diet of carbohydrates alone makes one cranky (just ask my co-workers and family)
2. One chicken thigh does not a meal make
3. Canned green beans are not green
4. Don't buy canned salmon

My $25 Challenge shopping trip
Monday, September 22, 2008
By: Kate Maehr

This week's diet will be heavy on carbohydrates

Here's a photo of the food from my shopping trip for the $25 Challenge. I spent $20.86; I figured I would save the remaining $4.14 in case I needed something later in the week.

It's day one and I'm already thinking about that $4, hoping I can get some fresh fruit with it. I had planned on buying a whole chicken and cooking it—but when I got to the store there were no whole chickens that I could afford—the least expensive one was over $9—so I went with thighs instead. It will be a diet heavy on carbohydrates: rice, oatmeal, pasta and beans.

Read more from the other $25 Challenge participants on the official blog.

$25 weekly food budget a real-life situation for many
Monday, September 15, 2008
By: Kate Maehr

IFBA Challenge will prove to be difficult

In yesterday's newspaper, the food section had a special piece addressing rising food costs. The goal was to provide readers with a menu that would make it possible to provide an entire meal for four people for just $25. I read through with interest—and remembered that one week from today I start the $25 Challenge. The average weekly benefit that an individual on food stamps receives in the State of Illinois is $25. In other words, your $25 needs to last a week—as in seven days, three meals a day—21 meals.

There is a group of us representing the eight food banks across the state that will attempt the challenge. Next Sunday, we'll each take $25 and go shopping. And rather than buying food for a lovely, albeit thrifty, meal for four, we will attempt to buy enough food to last for an entire week. The whole wheat linguini, olive oil and fresh green peppers from the menu in the newspaper are all out of the question—as are many of the things I consume, starting with the ritual cup of French roast coffee that I always begin my morning with. Needless to say, it will be tough—maybe even impossible. Which is, of course, part of the point. How on Earth can $25 spread across 21 meals? The answer is that is doesn't—which helps to explain why so many of the pantries across our country are seeing record numbers of visitors.

I put the newspaper in the recycling bin, and pulled out a piece of paper to begin my shopping list—relieved that I still had a week to figure out how to make 21 meals out of $25 dollars.

Heading back to school on an empty stomach
Friday, September 5, 2008
By: Kate Maehr

Child's hunger a reminder of critical need

I heard a story last week that made my heart ache. I spent part of the morning at a pantry in the North Lawndale neighborhood. I was joined by a couple of guests, including a member of the Illinois General Assembly and his chief of staff. The chief of staff described the challenges they face in their North Lawndale district office—recently she met with a woman who had a $5,000 utility bill she was unable to pay. She sees grandparents, parents, single men who have been recently released from prison and she sees children. Yes, even children. She told me the story of the day she walked out of the office and saw a young boy from the nearby grammar school. He was stomping by, angry, and she asked him what was wrong. He screamed "I'm hungry!" She asked, "What do you mean you are hungry?" and he proceeded to tell her that they didn't have food at their home and he was looking for something to eat. Did I mention he was in grammar school?

Chicago Public Schools resumed this week. The image most of us have in our minds is one of children eager to see their friends on the first day of school and parents shifting into the fall routine—adjusting schedules, picking up the last minute additions to the school supply lists and making sure the new school clothes fit. And here's the image of most of us do not have: The child who has nothing to eat in the morning before she walks out the door to go to school—not because she is a picky eater, but because there simply isn't food to eat. Or the child who comes home after a long day to a household without enough food for a nutritious dinner—maybe tonight it's potato chips instead of meat and potatoes. Or the mother who makes a nutritious meal for her children and doesn't eat herself, saying "Oh, I’m not hungry," when the truth of the matter is that there wouldn't be enough for the children if she ate.

That visit to North Lawndale last week was a sobering reminder. For too many families—and children—just putting a meal on the table can be an overwhelming challenge in and of itself.

Alarming trend apparent at pantry
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
By: Kate Maehr

St. Procopius Pantry

I arrived at St. Procopius a few minutes early and sat on the church steps until Silvia Juarez, the pantry coordinator, arrived. It was a warm summer day and, although it was early, already the Pilsen neighborhood was alive with activity. When Silvia arrived, we stepped into the pantry located in the rectory basement. The quiet was a dramatic contrast to the street outside—and, frankly, a contrast to so many agencies I have visited during the past few months. There was no line of people standing in front of the church, no group gathered outside of the pantry doors.  This is partly because St. Procopius is open more than 42 hours a week, offering clients great flexibility on when they can come and collect bags of food. And it is partly because so many of the people who turn to the pantry at St. Procopius have jobs—it occurs to me that my 9 a.m. visit is not well-timed for meeting clients.

After touring the pantry with its neatly stocked shelves, I asked Silvia about the individuals and families who use the pantry. Many hold jobs but they are struggling with the increased cost of gas, rising utility bills and higher rents—a sentiment echoed by Father Tim Howe when I spoke to him a few minutes later.

We are seeing this in almost every community we serve.  Last week, the Food Depository released a study on the food needs among Cook County’s working poor.  Interviewers from the University of Chicago’s Survey Lab spoke with more than 300 working-poor residents of Cook County—61 percent of whom said their financial circumstances made it difficult for them to secure food during the past year.  A staggering 49 percent reported three or more “food insecure” conditions in their household—statistic-speak that means they lacked money for food, lacked money to maintain a balanced diet (i.e., a 99 cent bag of potato chips rather than a $2.99 bag of potatoes), cut the sizes of meals, skipped meals to stretch the food they had—or went hungry altogether. Remember—these are folks who have jobs. People who are getting up early and heading out the door each morning to earn a living—except no matter how hard they try, their wages aren’t enough to earn that living.

What do you do if, in order to get to work, you fill the gas tank and the extra $25 you just spent means one less bag of groceries? What do you do if the utility bill comes and it is suddenly so much higher? What do you do when school is out—and your child no longer has access to the reduced-price school lunch program? What do you do if the new month brings an increase in rent?  In short, what do you do if you are doing everything you can but it’s still not enough? 

Back on the street after my visit, the signs of summer are everywhere. A vendor selling ice cream and popsicles is already strolling down the street. Children are playing in a nearby park. Construction crews are at work on the condos around the corner. And inside St. Procopius, the volunteers are preparing themselves for another day of food distribution.

Basement is beacon of hope
Thursday, June 19, 2008
By: Kate Maehr

Walls Memorial Church

Earlier this week I was in the basement of Walls Memorial Church on Sacramento, just north of the Eisenhower Expressway. When I walked into the large room that serves as overnight shelter/food pantry/meeting space/Kids Cafe/soup kitchen/food stamp outreach center, I was stunned by the number of volunteers. So often our partners struggle to attract volunteers. But everywhere I turned, volunteers were buzzing around me—filling the grocery bags for the pantry distribution that would begin at 11 a.m., preparing laptop computers for food stamp outreach, making coffee to hand to clients as they came in to receive their bags of food.

Shortly before the pantry opened, Shirley Hollingsworth, who coordinates the church’s food programs, invited the volunteers to come together and hold hands in a circle. She thanked all of the volunteers and said, forcefully, how lucky we were to be together in the Walls basement. As Shirley said that—and as all the heads around me nodded vigorously in agreement—I thought about what that meant. Chicago is the most beautiful city in the world. And Chicago is at its most beautiful in the summer, when Lake Michigan glistens, the sky is clear and flowers seem to explode out of nowhere. So imagine my surprise, standing in a basement of a church in East Garfield Park. I’m miles away from the lakefront—and this isn’t a neighborhood that often gets called out for its beauty. And yet, standing there with this amazing group of volunteers—preparing to distribute food to more than 200 men, women and children—I had to agree. We were all very lucky to be there together in the basement of Walls Memorial Church.