It was just another example of neighbors helping neighbors on a recent Wednesday afternoon at Morgan Park Presbyterian Church as the 19th Ward Mutual Aid organization offered its weekly “Free Store.”
A steady stream of cars, lined up for blocks, made its way through the parking lot of the church at 110th Street and Longwood Drive. The drivers picked up boxes containing dairy products, fresh fruit and vegetables, and a prepared meat entree as part of the distribution program that started in July.
There were also tables laden with canned and packaged food. What items are available each week depends on what has been donated. That time, bags of lentils and cartons of pumpkin-spice yogurt were part of the offerings.
The 19th Ward Mutual Aid group was founded last spring by Tim Noonan, a computer consultant who lives in Beverly, in response to people losing their livelihoods due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Beverly, Morgan Park and Mount Greenwood neighborhoods have a long history of helping each other out,” Noonan said. “There were some targeted efforts in place already and we decided to organize a broader effort to reach as many people in the community as possible. This is nondenominational and nonpolitical, just neighbors helping neighbors.”
Mutual aid organizations are grassroots networks of people who connect those in need with those who can help. They are not a new phenomenon; they have been around for more than a century as “benefit societies” and other designations. The pandemic has brought forth a new wave of these efforts.
The 19th Ward Mutual Aid organizers have been involved in multiple endeavors since its beginning. As food insecurity became an increasingly more severe problem, providing food assistance ultimately became their focus.
“Families have to make choices about where their limited resources go,” Noonan said. “They are going without food to cover other expenses, or not paying their rent so they can eat. If we help provide food, they can put their money toward housing, medical, and other expenses.”
The number of families being served has shown a substantial increase in recent weeks. In August, an average of 88 families were served through the Free Store each week. In December, that number increased to 159.
Noonan estimates he spends about thirty hours of volunteer time each week arranging and managing the Free Store. The job involves making contacts and networking with government agencies, philanthropic organizations, food pantries, church programs, homeless and domestic abuse shelters, community gardens and other groups involved in food programs. Bartering, swapping, sharing, and helping each other out — in short, providing mutual aid — are the keys to success for an effort like this.
Finding the right facility to house the program for the long-term was a critical step. One connection led to another, right to the Morgan Park Presbyterian Church, whose kitchen includes a freezer and refrigerator for storing perishable items.
Pastor Ben Heimach-Snipes said at the same time Noonan was looking for a site, the church was looking for a way to become active in local efforts.
“The church has been closed because of the pandemic, and we wanted to find a way to use it to provide essential service to people during this time of need. We offered the church as a COVID testing site or a homeless shelter, but those ideas did not work out. This initiative was a great fit,” Heimach-Snipes said.
Continuing the initiative in the New Year will be challenging. A mainstay of the Free Store was the United States Department of Agriculture Farmers to Families Food Box Program that provided the boxes of fresh food. Funding for the program ended right after Christmas. The newly signed federal stimulus bill provides for food assistance programs, but it may be months before any new program is implemented.
Noonan is determined to keep the Free Store going, at least through the fall, and he is “scrounging” for ways to do so. That’s led to another project through contacts and networks.
To replace the USDA boxes, 19th Ward Mutual Aid began Dec. 30 to distributing gift cards for groceries from County Fair Foods store in Beverly. County Fair is making the cards available to the group at a discount, and donations provided the seed money to begin purchasing the cards.
Chefs will be involved in the project by providing ideas for how to make the most of the gift card while shopping at County Fair. The first week featured Alvin Green, of Cook My Pantry, who offered a recipe for chicken with tomatoes and lentils, based on the large supply of lentils available at the Free Store, and weekly sales at County Fair. The recipe can be found on 19th Ward Mutual Aid’s Facebook page.
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To continue the gift cards until March, when hopefully a new federal program will be in place, 19th Ward Mutual Aid has set a fundraising goal of $20,000.
“We will certainly see families suffering without the USDA program,” Noonan said. “We want to be able to continue our weekly distributions, but we will need help. We anticipate at least 150 families every week. We’re asking that people who are in a secure financial position please consider donating their stimulus check toward this effort.”
The website to donate is www.19aid.com/donate. For more information on 19th Ward Mutual Aid, contact [email protected].
Volunteers reported that working at the Free Store has been rewarding. 19th Ward Mutual Aid has been incorporated as a nonprofit organization, and Sal Campbell, co-founder and co-head of the Beverly Area Arts Alliance, now also sits on this new board.
“This has been an uplifting experience. We’re not here to judge people, to make anyone ‘prove’ they are personally in need. Some people come to pick up food for their elderly neighbors or friends who are staying at home because of the pandemic. We encourage this. It’s all about neighbors helping neighbors,” said Campbell.
Carol Flynn is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.