What did you enjoy most about last year's Hunger Walk?

Anne:

I loved participating in the Hunger Walk! It was a great opportunity to get outside on a beautiful summer day. Not only that, but it was great to be around so many wonderful people in support of a good cause.

Michael:

I had a lot of fun bringing my family out for the event… I even brought my dog! The walk was just the right length, and my kids really enjoyed the performance by the Jessie White Tumblers at the end. It was a great family opportunity.

Carol:

Although I didn’t walk, I was proud to sponsor my niece last year. Her excitement about the walk made me excited to support her financially. My niece reassured me that the money would be going directly to Lakeview Pantry to support hungry people, so I felt comfortable donating. It was fun for me to see her pictures after the walk. Even though I couldn’t walk myself, I was proud to show support through sponsorship!

James:

The Hunger Walk is a great way to show your participation in the fight against hunger. I enjoyed meeting with people within my community who also support Lakeview Pantry. I was proud to be able to show my support not only through my sponsorship, but through my participation in the walk itself.

Kim:

I’ve done several walks in the past, and this is by far one of my favorites. It is a nice, short walk along the lake. Also, there is no minimum amount of money you have to raise. You can raise zero dollars and walk, or you can raise a thousand and walk! Either way, you know you’re supporting a great cause.

Anita:

Last year I organized a team of my friends to walk… we raised over $700! We really felt like we made a difference. We also had a ton of fun walking together, and look forward to doing the same this year!

Linnea:

My husband and I thought the Hunger Walk would be a great way to get our kids involved in a good cause. My 12-year old wrote to our relatives asking for sponsorship, most of which were happy to do so! My 10 year old knocked on our neighbors’ doors, asking for a few just a few dollars. Our family raised over $150! Even my 6-year old was involved… she had a fun time walking with us along Lake Michigan. It was so much fun to work together as a family to raise money, and to walk side by side the day of the Hunger Walk.

Jim:

The Hunger Walk was a great experience overall. It’s a huge gathering of people from all over the city, joined in one cause. There are all sorts of people from all walks of life. There was a great sense of community, and it was refreshing to see so many people out in support of ending hunger.

How can we help the environment while helping those in need?

Guest Responder: Erin Stephens, Lakeview Pantry Director of Volunteers

Recycling, global warming, carbon footprints, energy efficiency, buy local…whew! These terms have entered our environmentally-conscious lexicon with a vengeance. Well, at least they have entered mine. I don’t know about anyone else, but I get overwhelmed by the scope of the ecological reparations my generation has to start planning.

There is one green term, though, that has the opposite effect on me—bicycling.

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Erin Stephens and I recently began working for the Lakeview Pantry as the Director of Volunteers. My job prior to this one was as the Event Volunteer Coordinator for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. I was very lucky to work in an environment that taught me how effective bikes are for everyday errands and transportation. I also learned that you never have to convince people how fun it is to ride a bike!

Well, this same efficiency and fun can easily be applied to volunteer work for the Lakeview Pantry. Some of the biggest lessons I am learning from my job here is how much energy is required for food distribution, counting both the manpower and fossil fuels used to move and transport it. While I would never want to remove the human connection to food distribution (someone has to stock the shelves, examine the produce, and interact with the customer), we can do something about the amount of gas and oil we burn through transporting our food.

For example, help us pick up our daily donations from local stores with your bike and a trailer. You will be amazed at how much cargo a person can transport. Are you still not comfortable riding amongst all those cars? Well, travel in a pack during a bike-trailer themed bag drive! Also remember, bikes get noticed on the streets. Any time you are riding on behalf of the LVP, you are helping to promote our organization and non-profits can use all the free PR they can get.

Please let me know if you have any other ideas to incorporate cycling or alternative transportation into the Lakeview Pantry volunteer program. This world needs more innovative and ecologically responsible ways to equalize societies’ access to food. I personally think the volunteers of the LVP community are just the minds to start this type of action, so get out there and ride!

For more information about volunteering for Lakeview Pantry, contact Erin at 773-517-4813 or email erin@lakeviewpantry.org.

What is the difference between a food pantry, soup kitchen, and food bank?

Guest Responder: Carrie McCormack, Lakeview Pantry West Coordinator

My name is Carrie McCormack and I have been an employee of Lakeview Pantry since fall of 2002. I coordinate the day-to-day operations of obtaining food and giving it out to those who need it. I work directly with clients, volunteers, donors, businesses and community organizations. All across the board, the termoinology involved with food distribution gets confused, so I thought I would write this post to clarify some common terms.

A shelter is a place that houses people either temporarily or on a longer term basis. Some shelters operate on an emergency need basis while others have certain criteria that must be fulfilled to stay there. These sites usually provide hot meals, or at least an evening meal and a light breakfast, for their residents.

A soup kitchen is a place that serves hot meals that clients can sit down and eat. Most soup kitchens have a regular schedule, such as dinner every Tuesday or lunch every first Sunday of the month. Oftentimes the meals are prepared by volunteers.

A food pantry is a place that provides groceries, or ingredients, to those in need who then take these items away to prepare themselves.

A food bank is a depository that collects and stores food items that they then distribute to soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters, day care centers, after school programs, senior programs, and other certified service agencies that serve food.

Sometimes we are referred to as a food shelter,which is not a term that is used in the social service industry. I'm not sure what a food shelter would be but it sounds like a place which keeps food safe, like your kitchen pantry at home. We are a pantry and do keep food safe, so maybe people are onto something!

So in short, Lakeview Pantry is a food pantry that receives a portion of its food from a food bank. We provide clients with two weeks worth of groceries, but no food is prepared on site and no one resides overnight on our premises. While food distribution is our main activity, we also provide clothing and household items free of charge and we also distribute hygeine items if we have them. In addition, we have a case management program that among other things, provides emergency financial assistance and referrals to other agencies.

Name 2-3 nonprofits (other than Lakeview Pantry) that you think do great work and tell us why

Guest Responder: Angela Joyce, Lakeview Pantry's Development Associate.

An organization doing great work in Chicago is the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH). While I believe supporting emergency services such as food and shelter is very important, it is also important to support groups who are working on solutions to poverty. CCH has a number of campaigns designed to decrease the effects of poverty including advocating for affordable housing, pushing for increased funding for homelessness prevention, discussing alternatives to prostitution and empowering youth who have experienced homelessness. They are also well known for their work in organizing Day Laborers and for their Coalition Café, a fair trade coffee program that provides job training and part-time wages to homeless and formerly homeless adults. You can learn more about CCH on their website www.chicagohomeless.org as well as sign up for action alerts and read the most recent reports on homelessness and poverty.

While I support a number of agencies working on issues related to poverty, I am also grateful for the wonderful arts and culture organizations that Chicago offers. One of my favorite arts organizations is the Old Town School of Folk Music. I think they do wonderful work in the community because they “celebrate music and cultural expressions rooted in the traditions of diverse American and global communities.” At the Old Town School, it is no secret that music and dance is often the one thing that can bring people from diverse backgrounds together. They offer programs for adults and children as well as public concerts. One of my favorite things about the Old Town School of Folk Music is that their programs are not just for the affluent—they offer scholarships and affordable programming in everything from banjo lessons to classical ballet. You can learn more about their mission, classes and concerts at www.oldtownschool.org.

Please share with us some of your favorite non-profits in the community by leaving us a comment!

What are 3 simple actions that every person can take to help fight poverty?

Our first response is provided by David Abrahamsom, Senior Pastor at Saint Luke Church:

Get Involved…….

Pray… No matter what your tradition, ask for the guidance, strength and grace required to help others in a positive and appropriate way.

Promote… Use your vote and your wallet to change the “system” locally, nationally and globally. Network with and support those organizations that “make a difference’ in the battle against hunger and homelessness.

Provide… Donate to the local food pantry or similar organization the equivalent of one can of food and one dollar a day in the fight against hunger

Simple, easy, effective.

David G. Abrahamson
Saint Luke Ministries
For more information about St. Luke Church, please visit their website: www.stlukechicago.org

Our second response is written by Gary Garland, Executive Director of Lakeview Pantry:

1. Support strong anti-poverty organizations, and hold them accountable. Do not just take an organization’s word that they do good work; visit, observe and ask questions.

2. Live out those values that cause you to be concerned about poverty. Smile, make eye contact, and say “hello” to the homeless person you pass. At the ballot box, vote for those who offer attention and solutions to the problems which you want addressed.

3. Share your values. If you have children, teach them the dignity inherent in every life and the responsibility which we all have to care for others.


Please share your comments and ideas with us on this important question!