Global Health Project
Last year at The Greater Chicago Food Depository, they distributed enough food to be equivalent to 154,000 meals a day. For this reason I chose to do my volunteer work at The Greater Chicago Food Depository. Their number one goal is to end hunger and not just by handing out bags of chips and cans of soda. They distribute fresh produce and other fresh items as much as possible to ensure that these food insecure people have some nutritious intake.
Background
Background
According to Feeding America’s most recent report from 2012, about 800,000 people in Cook County are food insecure. Food insecurity is the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Poor nutrition leads to a number of chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes which can be fatal if not treated.
Food Insecurity Rates
Diabetes Related
Coronary Heart Disease
This map from the Greater Chicago Food Depository shows populations of food insecure people.
When you compare this map to the two maps showing populations in Chicago having heart disease and diabetes, you can see that the areas with higher food insecurity tend to have higher prevalence of the two chronic diseases.
Aside from chronic diseases, poor nutrition can also lead to a number of deficiencies that can affect the proper growth of children. This can include anything from physical to cognitive development.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is a nonprofit food distribution that provides food for hungry people throughout the city. They distribute food to 650 different soup kitchens, shelters, mobile programs, children programs, older adult programs, and innovative responses that address the root causes of hunger. They work with roughly 350 local and national food companies, grocers, and other food service organizations to be able to provide and feed the hungry people of Cook County. Their mission and goal is to make sure that no one in Chicago goes hungry.
Methods
Methods
The first volunteer session I participated in was what they call a food repack. A lot of the food donated to the food depository comes in bulk quantities from grocers for example. During my session we received huge crates of mini carrots that were bagged, but were required to be repacked into boxes all relatively the same weight. They repack like this so that they are able to send out their fresh produce to soup kitchens, shelters, and other locations. Fresh produce obviously doesn’t have a long shelf life so they can only send out so many pounds to ensure that the locations are able to utilize the produce while it is still fresh. We also boxed loose corn to be distributed. I could not remember the exact goal we were trying to reach, but we went well over it making it a very successful day.
The second volunteer session took place at Union Station where we were required to hand out brown paper bags to the public to promote their city wide food drive that takes place throughout November and December. As we handed out the brown bags we asked the people to kindly fill them with nonperishable items and return them to the many drop off locations.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is also involved in a number of special events (link to events page) that you can attend and even volunteer at. Their involvement throughout the city is what makes the Greater Chicago Food Depository name so well known and helps the organization continue to grow to reach their goal.
Results
Results
The first way The Greater Chicago Food Depository is part of the global society is the many connections it has to keep the organization thriving. The GCFD works with 350 local and national food companies, grocers, foodservice organizations, produce markets, and growers. Having this many sources connects so many people to the food depository making more people aware of the issue. Since national food companies are involved organizations around the country or world can be inspired by the GCFD to start something like this in their own city.
Another way The Greater Chicago Food Depository is part of the global society is that is brings a lot of people together to help the organization out by donating their time and effort into many aspects. Volunteers are needed to help repack food, load and unload trucks, and delivery and pickup produce which were some of the activities I was involved in. In my time volunteering I met a wide variety of people. Both younger and older, of all races and ethnicities, and of all religions. In today’s society we face a lot of racism and argue over religion and whatnot, but what I saw here was those differences were put aside because there were more important things to worry about. Being able to volunteer for an organization like this really helps bring people to together and give back to their community by helping out others that live there too.
Most importantly The Greater Chicago Food Depository helps the food insecure people of Chicago. At first I thought that most people receiving food from the GCFD were homeless, but more people are food insecure than you would think. Someone can have a place to sleep and a job and still be food insecure. A lot of times people have to choose between paying for food and paying medical bills, rent, utility bills, or for education. Even if there is some money left over when all the bills are paid for, it isn’t enough to get quality food and in some areas that isn’t even an option. For my negative social determinant of health I addressed the issue of food deserts which is simply an area that does not have access to a variety of fresh produce. A lot of times people in these areas stoop to getting their food from convenience stores or gas stations which only have overly processed foods to offer. This poses many health issues for the people under these circumstances. When I volunteered at the food depository they explained that they pack food and literally drive to these areas and hand out meals where hundreds line up. If that isn’t address the problem directly I don’t know what is! All of these are great examples of how The Greater Chicago Food Depository connects not only our city, but nation and even sets a great example for the rest of the world through social, economic, and political processes.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is doing a great job already sending out enough food to be equivalent to 154,000 meals a day, although I would like to see it grow. If we used the same strategy and ideology that they do at the GCFD in other countries then anything could be possible. It would be much more difficult since low income countries do not have as many food service companies as we do here to donate, but big companies are always looking to help donate and make things like this possible. This would help The Greater Chicago Food Depository become more globally connected. World hunger is a very huge and important task to overcome and the GCFD is doing a great job, along many other organizations, to solve the problem here in America.
