Monday’s post-storm power outages caused one of the worst food losses Gwendolyn Sampson has seen in her 52 years working at All Things Through Christ Outreach Ministries in Englewood.
“This is probably one of the worst things we’ve seen in a while,” Sampson told the Sun-Times on Wednesday afternoon as he was on his way to a food pantry at the church where he serves as an associate pastor. “The area has been completely shut down. … Everybody has lost food.”
Sampson’s food pantry, which was set up by her mother, lost about 60 cartons of beef, chicken, turkey, fish and pork, as well as about 70 cartons of eggs.
More than 20 tornadoes struck the Chicago area on Monday, leaving more than 220,000 ComEd customers without power, and 430,000 people had service affected at some point during or after the storm.
Sampson was expecting a food delivery on Wednesday, but canceled the order because her church was one of 44,000 ComEd customers still without power. Power was restored after 10 p.m. Wednesday. Now, the food pantry must wait until July 25 to be restocked.
The food pantry opened at its usual time of 9 a.m. on Saturday and distributed its stock of dry goods and other items to more than 100 people. Other nearby food pantries also shared their food.
“People are food deprived and we’re trying to accommodate them,” Sampson said.
Leonard Bryant selects groceries during a distribution event at All Things Through Christ Outreach Ministries in Englewood on Saturday.
Talia Sprague/The Sun-Times
Chosen Bethel Family Ministries, another food pantry less than two miles from All Things Through Christ, delivered more than 200 sandwiches Wednesday afternoon to help make up for the shortage.
Walter Gillespie, senior pastor of Chosen Bethel Family Ministries, said the church was “fortunate and grateful” that it didn’t suffer major damage from the storm and only lost power for a few hours overnight. He said the church was able to feed the 300 people who came to the food pantry on Monday and Thursday, and that as a man of faith, it felt “great” to be able to support another food pantry.
“Feeding the hungry is a commandment from God,” Gillespie said. “And He has given us a surplus.”
On Saturday, people came to Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church to pick up food from churches in Sampson, many of whom lost food in the storm. Edgar Tixelema, who has lived in Englewood since last year, lost power on Monday and his family of six was without a refrigerator until Wednesday afternoon. He said he was “relieved” to have a place to go to get food.
Jamie Hawkins, her husband and their five children were without power until Wednesday afternoon, and they too had to throw out spoiled food.
She said helping people get food after a storm shouldn’t be left to food pantries, which often find themselves struggling after a storm and power outages. Federal food assistance recipients can apply for food refills, but they must do so within 10 days through the Illinois Department of Human Services and prove they lost power.
“Obviously it’s good to have something like this as a backup plan in case of an emergency,” Hawkins said.
Jamie Hawkins (right) packs groceries during a food distribution event at All Things Through Christ in Englewood on Saturday. Hawkins, her husband and their five children didn’t have power restored to their home until Wednesday afternoon, forcing them to throw out spoiled food.
Talia Sprague/The Sun-Times
Another food pantry in Englewood, the Greater Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, also lost power, putting 300 to 400 pounds of frozen chicken at risk of spoiling. Through the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the church was able to donate the chicken to the Coppin Community Center in Washington Heights, which houses and supports asylum seekers and others in the area.
Coppin Community Centre director Frankie Parham said it was pure “luck” the centre had distributed food the day before and had the capacity to take in more.
“We are fortunate to have a large network that allows us to mobilize quickly in times of crisis and ensure the great food we prepare for our neighbors doesn’t go to waste,” said Man Yi Lee, spokesperson for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Gillespie said his church has worked with the repository for about 20 years.
This is all part of the “network” they have been trying to build over the years to ensure that those looking for food in emergencies are connected with those who have surplus food.
“It’s not just people in our community who need food,” Gillespie said. “We want to feed as many people in the city as possible, so we share as much food as we can with each other. [pantries] It’s not a big deal, but it all helps somebody.”
