How Food Banks Are Adjusting Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic
The Greater Chicago Food Depository has begun moving some of its warehouse to accommodate more volunteers.
Photo via Greater Chicago Food Depository’s Facebook.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is making adjustments to their normal operations as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt food distribution networks across Chicago.
The depository has been working in accordance with CDC social distancing guidelines, limiting the number of volunteers it has been able to accomodate in its Archer Heights-based headquarters.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository had already been adhering to the FDA’s pre-pandemic guidelines for food handling, which included regular hand washing and instructions for storing and cooking raw foods. With the spread of COVID-19, Greg Trotter, a spokesperson for the depository, says the CDC’s social distancing guidelines have presented new challenges.
Volunteers — who pack boxes with around 30 pounds of non-perishable food items — have been moved into the depository’s 270,000 square foot main warehouse space to allow for ample distance between each person.
However, Trotter says this has resulted in the number of volunteers per shift, which run for two hours and 45 minutes each, to drop from 175 to 60 people. Trotter says that the depository packs thousands of boxes each week, with this number fluctuating based on the number of volunteers at hand.
To adjust to these newfound space restrictions, the Greater Chicago Food Depository has been utilizing the United Center to shift some of its warehouse inventory. More recently, the depository has started using Cinespace Chicago Film Studios for storage.
“[Cinespace] was very generous in their offer of the space...I'm sure they could have found other ways to use that space that was probably more lucrative to them, but they instead decided to donate it to us to help out,” Trotter says. “It's an example of the kind of unique partnerships that are springing up during this crisis.”
Cinespace, the production home of shows like “Empire” and “Chicago Fire,” has donated 20,000 square feet to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Combined with its usage of the United Center, the extra warehouse space allows the depository to increase the number of volunteers to 100 per shift.
According to Trotter, this increase in the number of volunteers — and in turn, the number of boxes packed — is critical in this time. Although two-thirds of its food distribution network is still operational, Trotter says the geographical gaps left by the closure of multiple food banks in certain areas has led the depository to consider new methods of distribution.
“We have had some pantries that have had to close. Some of them are in buildings that they don't own...Some of them are run by older adults who are more at risk of the virus,” Trotter says. “We’ve been collecting data for the past few weeks [on areas where there have been multiple pantries closed] and we see a high need and we're starting to see where the trends are emerging. So, we might do some mobile distributions going forward.”
While there are no solid plans to introduce mobile distributions, the Greater Chicago Food Depository encourages following the CDC’s recommendations to anyone making their way to one of its food bank sites, which can be found listed on its website. It also recommends calling ahead to ensure normal hours.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is accepting donations here, and those interested in volunteering can register here.