Community efforts reduce food insecurity

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“If you’re anywhere in between [the Evanston grocery stores], it’s really not easy for you to get there, especially if you do not have transportation and you’re taking public transportation,” O’Connor says.

The situation isn’t all negative, though. While big grocery stores have failed low-income communities and government assistance programs haven’t been enough, community-based solutions have emerged as a huge part of the battle against food insecurity. Three Evanston community solutions, in particular, have made big impacts on the community.

The first is Evanston Grows, which was founded in April 2021 to increase edible community gardens in Evanston. Evanston Grows has eight community gardens, five of which are situated in the Fifth Ward, which has an Evanston food desert.

“Having these community gardens within the

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“I think the biggest thing is the loss of community for the people that come and eat. These soup kitchens are a place where they can sit down and talk together and see each other. At the start of the pandemic, a lot of them would say, ‘Have you seen Steve?’ ‘Have you seen Helen?’ ‘If you see them, tell them I say hi.’ If I don’t see somebody for a couple of weeks, I have to ask ‘Have you seen so and so? I haven’t seen them in a couple of weeks. Are they okay?’” Caroll says. “They sit at tables together. They all know each other. They miss that and it’s been a huge loss for them.”

Still, Caroll believes it is possible to foster a nurturing community. Rather than simply handing the to-go bag and sending a guest on their way, Caroll has explored the value of small gestures.

“I try to form a connection with everybody and make sure they’re all okay, because to me, that’s the most important part. I try to call everyone by their name or get their name. I just do goofy stuff, like ‘I need to see a smile before I’m giving you this meal,’ instead of just saying ‘here’s your bag,’ because to me, anybody can do that,” Caroll shares.

Widespread financial instability left many Evanstonians strained, unable to provide themselves and their families with basic needs. Additionally, many individuals who became confined to their homes in an effort to avoid exposure to COVID-19 no longer visited the kitchens.

“Pre-pandemic, depending on the time of the month and the time of year, we would have anywhere from 65 people on a low day to more than 100 people on a religious day. Now, since the pandemic, we serve 65 meals. A few of those are usually seconds, but we serve 65 meals every week, and we rarely really run out. We’re serving far fewer people,” explains Paula Ketchman, coordinator of the Interfaith Sunday Soup Kitchen at St. Paul’s Church.

As lifestyles changed, longstanding habits were suspended.

City of Evanston is really important to not only create a community of camaraderie, but it also creates opportunities for people to see how everyone lives. Everybody’s coming from different places, but the thing that we all have in common is food. And having access to food is a basic right that everyone deserves,” O’Connor states.

Evanston Grows engages the community by offering volunteer opportunities to high schoolers looking to spend an afternoon laying down soil or planting tomatoes. The organization emphasizes that Evanston Grows doesn’t run unless the community pushes it forward.

That’s the same message that the Evanston Community Fridges lives by. The fridges were created in conjunction with Evanston Fight for Black Lives to combat food insecurity in the Black, brown and low-income communities of Evanston. The four public fridges in Evanston are filled by community members with the idea of providing for those in need. However, the group believes that anyone who wants food can

“We have lost serving groups. I’m currently trying to fill out my 2023 schedule, and I have a lot of empty Sundays where I don’t know where the meals are going to come from,” Ketcham shares. “We have had fewer regular volunteers; there are people who just haven’t come back. But we do have a really dedicated core group of folks, and we couldn’t do it without them. They’re just people in the community who have been doing this, and it is something they’re really committed to. One of the only reasons we have been able to provide a meal every single Sunday throughout the pandemic is because of the volunteers and the groups and organizations that have supported us.” take it, no matter their demographics.

During the height of the pandemic, the American population navigated sources of strain driven by isolation and uncertainty. The modifications that were once considered a priority for many soup kitchens were no longer attainable under the weight of the radical transformations.

“We were composting at my soup kitchen [prior to the pandemic]. We had been doing it for several months, and we were finally getting into a rhythm of training our guests and then all of a [sudden], we didn’t have water and pitchers. Instead, we have to give them individual bottles,” says Mary Beth Roth, co-manager of the Friday Sack Lunch Soup Kitchen and coordinator of the Produce Mobile, which distributes free fruit and vegetables to Evanston’s inhabitants twice a month. As many kitchens were taking steps to become more eco-friendly, the pandemic forced them to utilize more plastic than they ever had before.

Even in the depths of isolation, many were able to identify silver linings. For Evanston’s soup kitchens, open communication became a necessary fixture; it facilitated consistency and ensured that meals weren’t duplicated.

“[The soup kitchens] used to communicate with one another on a regular basis, but within two weeks of COVID, we began to communicate every week. This was very helpful in making decisions, especially for when and how we were going to open back up,” Roth adds.

“Our motto is ‘Take what you need, leave what you can.’ So the purpose of the fridges is to ensure that every community member in Evanston, every neighbor of ours, has food to eat if they want it,” says Grant-Bolton.

These community efforts aren’t limited to nonprofits and startups. C&W Market and Ice Cream Parlor has been in business right across from ETHS since 2014. When the pandemic hit and everything shut down, they stepped up in the community, handing out 200 meals a week to Evanston residents. Almost three years later, they are still packaging and delivering meals to families and elderly folks who need them. Unlike the big grocery stores, C&W doesn’t just want to make a profit; they want to build mutual trust with the community.

“[Customers] can come in and purchase if they’re capable. And if they’re out of work and then they find jobs, then they can become a customer as well. So it’s beneficial to be able to

After a strenuous two-year battle, several soup kitchens have reopened their doors, allowing guests to be seated indoors, with few restrictions in place.

“We’re back to tablecloths and flowers on the table. Most of the guests are really happy to be inside and be able to come in from the cold,” Levin-Shulruff says. “The guests commented last week that this is the happiest place to be.”

In a constantly evolving world, reopening is both tempting and intimidating. As some community members rushed to return to pre-pandemic tendencies, the threat of contracting the virus wasn’t so effortlessly abandoned for others.

“There’s still a bit of a reluctance to go back inside for some of the volunteers. We’ve been going back and forth about whether we should resume service inside, and we just aren’t there yet,” Spencer shares.

Nonetheless, those who have expressed hesitation towards reopening their doors have transcended their energy into preparing to-go meals that satisfy the needs of their guests.

“We’re currently serving about 50 people on Saturdays at First Presbyterian, but we also package about 60 meals for guests that are housed at the Margarita Inn,” Spencer adds. The Margarita Inn, a hotel-based shelter located on Oak Avenue in Evanston, is a new, innovative program operated by Connections for the Homeless, an organization that provides supportive services for individuals and families that are struggling with homelessness. “We’re making about 110 meals right now for every Saturday [for those folks].” build a relationship, and then work with families from there,” Weaver voices.

As a result of the inevitable burden caused by the pandemic, hunger relief coordinators collaborated with one another and strengthened their usual services, providing additional resources for those that attend the soup kitchen.

“We also have somebody from Connections for the Homeless that comes in that can direct people to any kind of services that they might need outside of the meal,” says David Karnes, the supervisor for the First United Methodist Church soup kitchen.

Olsen solidifies its significance.

All of these community efforts make a critical difference for countless families. But those efforts and ones like them across the country can’t fill the gap left by big grocery stores that don’t cater to the food-insecure people of America. The very existence of organizations like Evanston Grows and the Evanston Community Fridges is a reflection of a system that has failed to provide the most basic necessities for all people. They are a reflection of companies that value profit over people, and a country that carries the weight of centuries of racist policies.

Until the day that all people have equal access to affordable, healthy food, it’s up to individual communities to provide meaningful food resources for those who need them.

“I think people have to realize there’s always somebody out there that needs help,” Weaver concludes. “And whenever you can help somebody, you should always do it.”

“It’s more than just food. It’s more than just the meal. That’s just a part of it,” she says.

By seeking advice from one another, those that assist in coordinating the soup kitchens have developed creative solutions to problems and gestures that make the experience worthwhile.

“Sue Murphy said something once, and I always remember it,” Economos shares. “She said, ‘Many of our guests, all they ever hear is no.’ So we try to remember that if someone asks for something, and we can’t provide it, we’ll say, ‘We’re not able to meet your request right now, but we will in the future’ or ‘let me just double check on this.’ We try to say yes if we can. If someone wants a second cup of coffee, we say ‘Yeah, that’d be fine!’ It is important for people to [hear] ‘yes’ every once in a while.”

Individuals that attend Evanston’s soup kitchens are not required to show any form of income or provide details about their situation. This speaks to the community’s recognition of the humanity of guests. And for those that help facilitate the soup kitchens, the patrons’ appreciation does not go unnoticed.

“The [guests] are always thankful, and they’re always giving gratitude as they walk out. Someone once said, ‘Thank you so much’ and I said ‘Oh, you’re so welcome.’ And he said, ‘I don’t mean for the food, I mean for how we’re treated,’” Roth shares. “At the soup kitchen, we try to give people choices. We try to treat them like you treat any other guest in your own home. It’s really important that people feel they are respected when they walk in the door and that they don’t have to prove that they need the food. We just give it to them.”

Coming out of the pandemic, soup kitchens are responsible for leaving our community slightly less hungry and far more united.

“It is a joy,” Spencer shares. “We’re just trying to contribute a little bit of warmth, and if I can put a smile on someone’s face, it’s worth it.”

Art by Meg Houseworth