Written by Nancy Holland…
Saint Andrew’s s theme for Lent is “Mercy for All: Pray – Fast – Give.”
This week our theme focuses on our volunteer efforts with the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Have you ever looked in your refrigerator or pantry and thought there wasn’t anything to eat when in reality it was full of food you just weren’t hungry for? Now imagine you open your cabinet or refrigerator and it is empty. What do you do? Where do you go? The Greater Chicago Food Depository fills the gap for over 232,100 households each year by providing food to over 700 agencies and food pantries.
GCFD relies on volunteers to help keep costs down by repacking bulk food to distribute to the hungry in Cook County. Each month, a group of volunteers from St. Andrew’s work on a project at the GCFD warehouse. We repackage rice or beans, inspect fresh vegetables, check expiration dates or label cans to prepare the food to be distributed. On an average Saturday, we help pack enough food to feed over 17,000 people in just three hours. It is quite a return on the time invested. We have fun while working and meet likeminded people from around the city with one goal in mind: To put an end to hunger!
GCFD is featured each week in the bulletin with the dates of the upcoming scheduled Saturdays (the next is Saturday, April 6, 2019) . Children ages 14 – 15 are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. There are family days listed on the GCFD calendar for children 5 & up if you would like to get them started early with helping feed the hungry. If you have any questions, please reach out to Nancy Holland at neh213@gmail.com.
Upcoming dates for Saint Andrew to attend the Greater Chicago Food Depository can be found at https://standrew.org/love/volunteer-at-gcfd/
