Mayor Johnson, Cupich meet with Chicagoans seeking help at pantries

Thynoise King is planning to serve a Thanksgiving dinner Thursday to his five children when they visit him.

But King, 66, needs help to make the ends meet.

On Wednesday, he joined dozens of Chicagoans to receive free food at Safer Foundation’s food pantry in Homan Square. Mayor Brandon Johnson also stopped by Safer to tour it.

Another high-profile figure, Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich, joined volunteers Wednesday at St. Moses the Black Parish in Grand Crossing.

Johnson urged Chicagoans to use Thanksgiving as an occasion to support families and communities in need.

“At a time in which we are facing food insecurity and funding cuts at the federal level, it’s so critical that this mission still remains vital,” Johnson said.

Kate Maehr, CEO of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, joined Johnson at the pantry. She said her organization has seen unprecedented demand, possibly the most in its almost 50 years. She said she is grateful for partners like Safer for distributing food to Chicagoans in need during the holidays.

“I like the program here, so far it’s been pretty good,” King said as he waited for the pantry to open.

King said he relies on neighborhood food pantries to help put food on the table. He said he doesn’t receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits — the food stamp program that was briefly paused during the government shutdown earlier this month.

He said he has been coming to the pantry for several months.

At Safer, which is organized like a grocery store, fresh vegetables and fruits lined the shelf next to canned goods and nonperishables. In the freezers were frozen meat, eggs and milk cartons. The food pantry’s staff walked with the shoppers and helped put items into their carts.

“This helps people feel good about their experience,” Johnson said.

At St. Moses the Black Parish in Grand Crossing, hundreds waited in line for the annual turkey giveaway on Wednesday morning.

Aretha Davis braved the cold to pick up finishing touches for her Thanksgiving dinner.

“I’m here to get what I need,” said Davis, 55. “I’ll be celebrating with my daughter and friends. We’ll have good food, music and dancing.”

Davis, who is unable to work because of her disability, visits the church’s food pantry each week to pick up essentials she can’t afford with her SNAP benefits.

Along with the turkeys, the community was offered milk, eggs, bread and fresh vegetables — and many stopped by the clothing drive for warm garbs.

The Rev. Matthew O’Donnell said the church has hosted a turkey drive for the past 25 years to make sure parishioners and neighbors have enough food to put together a Thanksgiving meal.

“What I’ve learned being the pastor here for 12 and a half years, is that the need for our food pantry continues to grow,” O’Donnell said. “We’ve just seen an increased need for this and so I think it inspires us as a parish, as a church, to really think about how we can do more for our neighbors.”

O’Donnell said they had enough turkeys for about a thousand people on Wednesday. On a typical week, the pantry serves roughly 700.

Cupich joined volunteers in handing out turkeys. He asked recipients what they were cooking for the holiday and if they had plans to watch the Chicago Bears play Friday.

“I don’t just want to hand out food,” Cupich said. “I want to get to know them.”

Cupich acknowledged the rising need for food in many neighborhoods. He said the Archdiocese of Chicago is working to help meet those needs.

“Food insecurity is growing,” he said. “Some people have lost their jobs because of some of the corporate decisions, but also people [who] work for the government. We’ve seen that with the shutdown … so we just want to be responsive to that.”

Those who recognized Cupich excitedly shook his hand and asked for selfies.

Jerome Braswell said he showed up at the church hoping to meet Cupich.

“When I saw him I made certain to thank him,” said the 71-year-old. “I said to him that my walk with the Lord has just been increasing, and God bless.”