W
hen StreetWise vendor Lee A. Holmes moved out of a friend’s home and onto the street, he quickly downloaded a list of regular meal programs from the Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) website. As a StreetWise participant, he was welcome to have breakfast at Inspiration Corporation, which offers career services – including a 12-week culinary training program – as well as employer outreach and retention at its headquarters downstairs from the StreetWise offices in Uptown. The GCFD list helped Holmes find meal programs across the city – although most were not within walking distance. As a magazine vendor, however, he could at least afford transportation. “I like it when they don’t just feed you food but feed you other resources to help you be sustainable,” said Holmes, whose StreetWise connections again allowed him to register ahead of time for the annual Homeless Outreach Luncheon at Marillac St. Vincent Family Services, 2145 N. Halsted St. The event provided him with not only a meal, but a sleeping bag, underwear, socks, gloves and a coat. There was also a doctor, podiatrist, HIV testing and 12 lawyers to provide legal aid, according to Mike “Santa Mike” Sturch. A volunteer and Marillac St. Vincent board member, Sturch has coordinated the event, which serves 440 people, for the last 50 years. For dinner, Holmes went to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, which hosts 130 guests in its dining room and 70 more with takeaway bags on weeknights at its 721 N. LaSalle St. headquarters. While Catholic Charities itself provides the meal on Tuesdays, it relies on multiple partners (churches and others) to provide food and volunteer servers on the other days.
Chicago Leads the Fight for Food Justice by Building Innovative Local Food Ecosystems by Alexandria Jacobson
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