‘It feels like a great big hug’

With his five children in tow, Archie Callahan arrived Saturday at the Bridgeview Sports Dome to collect his seven bags of food and a 20-pound turkey that had been donated for the annual Veterans Food Drive. He was overwhelmed by both the generosity and the gesture.

“It feels like a great big hug,” said Callahan, who was discharged last year after three deployments in the Middle East. “I just can’t believe that so many people are thinking of us and caring so much.”

As Callahan looked around at the more than 250 volunteers spread out among thousands of bags and boxes of food organized on the floor of the facility, he said, “After seeing this, it just made everything worth it.”

More than 1,200 veterans came through the sports dome to collect the bags of groceries, each of which was assigned with a letter that, when the bags were placed side by side, spelled “thanks.”

To receive the care package, individuals had to show proof of Illinois residency and present their current military identification or discharge papers.

Some, such as Mary Jarvis Anderson, who served in the Army in Fallujah, Iraq, and her father, Francis Anderson, a World War II veteran, waited an hour and a half in traffic that snaked around the building and out onto 87th Street.

Mary Jarvis Anderson, who takes care of her parents in her home in Joliet, said the wait was worth it and the food is going to assist the family this Thanksgiving.

“I was unemployed but I just started a new job and this is so going to really help. This is beyond nice that they are doing this. It means so much that people think of us and want to help,” she said.

The program started in 2009 when Mike Cozzi, of Joliet, walked into the office of the now-closed Veterans Outreach Program in Alsip with his father, a Korean War veteran.

“It bothered me that there were veterans who fought overseas and were having a hard time finding work, let alone finding something to eat,” Cozzi said.

That’s when he promised himself he was going to help at least 10 to 15 veterans and their families. He told a few friends, who spread the word. That first year he had enough items to assist 109 families.

Through social media, word of the event spread and donations poured in the following year. It outgrew Brookfield VFW Post 2868 and, the following year, Summit VFW Post 6863.

“We had the entire floor covered and we had to move things outside,” Cozzi said.

It eventually was headquartered at the Bridgeview Sports Dome last year, and “if we outgrow this, I don’t know what we are going to do,” he said.

The drive last year fed 800 people. The goal was raised this year. Cozzi partnered with Cruising for a Cause, which handled the online advance registration that was cut off at 1,000 recipients. But with an abundance of donations, people who did not register were able to walk in and receive bags of groceries.

Cozzi estimates that more than 1,200 people will be served by this year’s drive.

The event has expanded to include 40 chief business contributors who donate both items and money, plus 14 schools, numerous churches, and small and large businesses.

The items are dropped off at the sports dome Friday. Cozzi even has a flight of semis at his disposal that picked up the larger hauls.

More than 650 volunteers sorted and packed the groceries Friday. Each donation is checked for seals and expiration dates and then sorted. Bags are filled and laid out on the floor of the dome. Each donation includes food to create a Thanksgiving feast, plus cereals, fruits, vegetables and personal care items.

For 12 hours Friday and another 12 Saturday, Todd Wiseheart, of Willow Springs, helped sort donations and distribute them to his fellow vets. Last year, Wiseheart accepted a basket and decided this year he was going to step in and help.

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“Up until a few days ago I was homeless and living in my car. I know how important this is to people,” said Wiseheart, who served in the Army for 17 1/2 years. “But I also believe in what is going on here and helping people out. Here, it’s about community. You have that overseas and sometimes you don’t get that at home. Here, the community is taking care of people who helped to protect them. And that community feeling is so important.”

For the vets who were unable to travel to the food drive, assigned helpers delivered the packages.

Kevin Cozzie, who works for the Chicago Veterans Center, picked up packages for five veterans who, because of sickness or limited mobility, were unable to go to the sports dome. For Cozzie, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran who served from 2004 to 2008, this special detail meant a great deal.

“As a vet, it’s nice to see the unity and the community aspect of it,” Cozzie said. “There are different ways veterans can get help, large and small. From the federal government starting at the top and all the way to the bottom. Here, you have neighbors and community members reaching out. It’s nice to see that people believe that our veterans helped us and they believe it’s time to give back.”

Patricia Trebe is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.