Greater Chicago Food Depository announces $2.6M in grants to expand food access

ByLeah Hope and ABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo

Monday, February 8, 2021

Greater Chicago Food Depository expands food access with $2.6M in grants

The influx of money will allow food pantries across the city of Chicago to provide more food and more options to more people than ever, due ot the need from the pandemic.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Greater Chicago Food Depository is using $2.6 million in grants to open four new food pantries and improve 22 existing food pantries to provide a better emergency food system in Chicago's Black and Latino communities.

The grants will expand food access primarily on the city's South and West Sides, including the four new food pantries. The 22 existing pantries will use the grants to improve facilities, expand operations and ultimately serve more people.

"A lot are essential workers and so a lot of them have gotten sick," said Pastor Antonio Mariscal of Iglesia Evangelica Emanuel, one of the GCFD's food pantries receiving a grant for improvements.

Pastor Mariscal said they are serving four times as many people as a year ago, so news of the grant was welcome.

"It's going to help us stay open and help us provide the necessary food for our community," he said.

The church also hopes to use the grant money to buy a bigger delivery vehicle, as the need for food from people who can't come

In total, the Greater Chicago Food Depository has announced nearly $5 million in grants since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional investments will come throughout 2021, the organization said.

"One of the things we saw so clearly in the pandemic was how it was disproportionately impacting households of color," said Kate Maehr, executive director and CEO of the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Maehr said the grant commitment is a way to help those families most impacted by illness and job loss.

"Many of them will be the last to get called back up, so we are prepared for this need to last for months and possible years," she said.

The four new pantries that will open are located at:

Endeleo Institute in Washington Heights/Roseland

Inner-City Muslim Action Network (MAN) in Englewood/Chicago Lawn

New Life Centers of Chicagoland in South Lawndale

American Association for Single Parents in Dolton/Calumet City

The existing food pantries receiving transformative grants are:

Circle Urban Ministries in Austin

Hope Food Pantry in Austin

Iglesia Evangelica Emanuel in Belmont Cragin

Respond Now in Chicago Heights