Michael Donley, 57, is especially excited to celebrate Christmas this year. After experiencing homelessness for a decade, he and his wife moved into an apartment earlier this year. Donley recently visited the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, a Greater Chicago Food Depository partner, to gather ingredients for their first Christmas dinner in their new home.
“I’m so grateful,” Donley said. “I have a roof over my head and a kitchen that my wife and I can cook in. That’s something that I didn’t have for a long time. It’s nice when you can make your favorite foods again.”
With cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes from the pantry’s holiday food distribution, Donley plans to prepare a special Christmas meal with his wife.
A volunteer helps Michael Donley (left) pack his groceries.
Ensuring holiday meals for all
During this season, the Food Depository works to ensure that everyone, regardless of their situation, can enjoy a holiday meal with loved ones. This November and December, we will distribute an estimated 2.6 million pounds of holiday foods such as turkeys, hams, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, yams and more to over 160,000 guests throughout Chicago and Cook County. This is in addition to our regular food distributions throughout the year.
For many Chicagoans, the holiday season brings a financial squeeze, with the costs of gifts and special meals straining already tight budgets. Additionally, rising gas bills during sub-freezing temperatures often force people to choose between heating their homes or buying groceries. Food pantries play a vital role in bridging the gap, providing extra support during this challenging time.
Pantry coordinator Tramaine Martin gets ready to serve guests at a pantry distribution.
The St. Vincent de Paul Center food pantry has been serving the Lincoln Park community in partnership with the Food Depository since 2005. Operated by Marillac St. Vincent Family Services, the pantry is part of a larger mission to combat poverty through various programs, including early childhood education, youth activities, family support, senior services and community outreach.
“This pantry is very important for the neighbors in our community,” said Tramaine Martin, food pantry coordinator and director of community engagement and education at Marillac St. Vincent Family Services.
“Now that temperatures are dropping, access to food is more important than ever. Gas bills are going up, and unfortunately, grocery prices are up too.”
Sharing the joy of a holiday meal
Michael Moye, 68, is a retired house painter living alone in subsidized housing just a few blocks from the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. Moye has been reliant on social security for nearly a decade and was previously receiving disability checks for an injury he sustained at work.
Michael Moye is grateful for the food he receives at the St. Vincent de Paul Center food pantry.
“My food budget is kind of low,” he said. “I’m on a (fixed) income, and they cut my food stamps (SNAP benefits) just recently. They just dropped my benefits from $36 a month to $23 a month. That was already not much to begin with, and the fact that it’s even less now makes things harder.”
During his visits to the pantry, Moye also acts as a proxy for some of his older neighbors who cannot make the trip themselves. For many like Moye and his neighbors – most of whom also live on fixed incomes – the pantry is a crucial source of nutrition.
“It’s a big relief,” said Moye. “It’s good to get this food because I wouldn’t be able to afford it on my own. And it’s good quality, nice, healthy food.”
Marta Escobar, 38, and her husband, Luis Munoz, 39, recently moved to an apartment near the pantry, after relocating from a shelter where they lived for six months. Marta and her family are originally from Colombia, and they sometimes visit the pantry when it becomes hard to put food on the table for their three children.
Marta Escobar is excited to try cranberry sauce for the first time this holiday season.
“We’ve had to move from shelter to shelter several times,” Marta said. “It’s been difficult for my husband to find work with all the moving, but he works a job full-time now, so we can afford the apartment. The food we get from here really helps us make sure our children have what they need."
George Hicks plans to use the food he got at the pantry to cook a holiday meal this Christmas.
“We are so grateful to the Food Depository for providing this food for our guests,” said Martin. “We appreciate it very much, and we know they do, too.”
By partnering with local pantries like St. Vincent de Paul, the Food Depository helps ensure that individuals and families not only have enough to eat but can also experience moments of joy and togetherness during the holiday season and beyond.
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