Did you know that hunger remains a significant social problem in America? Here in the great city of Chicago it’s no different. According to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, 860,000 people in Cook County do not where their next meal is coming from and one out of six Chicagoans faces hunger every day.
Framing the problem another way, food insecurity rates are over 50% in some Chicago neighborhoods, notably on the South Side. Putting a face on hunger in Chicago, recent data suggests that 37% of the hungry in Chicago are children under 18 and 9% are children under 5. Perhaps surprisingly only 6% are homeless (http://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/site/PageServer?pagename=lb_hunger_learn_about_hunger).
The problem is not limited to poorer neighborhoods of the city, but is found in the more affluent areas of Chicago, including right here in our backyard. Estimates of hunger in West Town and the Near North Side approach 11% (http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/December-2012-1/The-Geography-of-Hunger-in-Chicago/).
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Helping to meet the local need for hunger relief is Saint Stanislaus Kostka church. At 1351 West Evergreen (visible from the Kennedy expressway) the “Church that Moved a Highway” provides food to the hungry Monday through Friday 11:30A.M. to 12:30 P.M. For questions, to donate, or to volunteer, please call the soup kitchen director Sister Florine at (773) 558-9258.
