Austin Coming Together helps host last community food pantry
CHICAGO - Austin Coming Together (ACT), the city of Chicago, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository will distribute more boxes of food to West Side residents during their last pop-up food pantry this summer.
At the event, located at 415 N. Laramie at the corner of Leamington & Kinzie (behind The Hand Club For Kids), Austin residents will have one more opportunity to pick up free boxes of food on Aug. 27 from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The Greater Food Depository will deliver the boxes filled with about 75lbs worth of meat, dry goods, and fresh produce. According to the community organization Austin Coming Together, each household will receive one box of food. ACT and volunteers will serve residents based on their order of arrival until supplies are gone.
The last pop-up pantry is scheduled to take place in any weather condition. ACT recommends that attendees drive-up to the food pantry because each box of food can weigh up to 75lbs. Those who are not able to drive should bring a cart, wagon, or extra people to help carry the food. Organizers and volunteers plan to distribute boxes to 1,000 households. Those interested in volunteering for the event can sign up through Austin Pop Up Pantry Volunteer Registration Form.
A volunteer carries a box of food to a car at the pop-up food bank in Austin. Photo courtesy of the Austin Coming Togther’s Instagram page (@act.chicago).
This will be the fourth pop-up food distribution that Austin Coming Together, the city of Chicago, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository has organized this summer. Originally, there were only two planned for July 16 and 30; however, after success within the community, ACT and the Greater Chicago Food Depository added two more dates - Aug.13 and 27. ACT stated on their website, “Austin Coming Together (ACT) has partnered with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the City of Chicago to host these “pop-up” food distribution events to provide access to a variety of healthy and nutritious foods, including fresh produce and shelf-stable items.”
Each Austin pop-up food distribution event is part of a larger initiative led by the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Over the last couple of months, the food bank has partnered with multiple Chicago community organizations and churches to host more food pop-ups pantries in areas such as Auburn Gresham, Woodland, Roseland, and more. The Greater Chicago Food Depository along with Mayor Lighfoots’s Racial Equity Rapid Response team has been aiming to increase food access in the Latino and African-American communities since those communities have been the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Greater Food Depository delivers food to the Austin pop-up food pantry. Photo courtesy of the Greater Food Depository’s instagram page (@fooddepository).
The Greater Chicago Food Depository said on their website, “Many of the communities that are hardest hit by the pandemic were already struggling with high rates of poverty and food insecurity. Through this urgent response, the Food Depository aims to build lasting partnerships to strengthen food access in these communities.”
For more information on other pop-ups sites please visit the Chicago Food Depository website.