At St. Mary of the Lake and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, staff members and parishioners organize a Wednesday night soup kitchen, a sack meal program and monthly food pantry distribution with free groceries for community members in need. Our church is on Sheridan Road in the Buena Park neighborhood, but the people we serve come from all over the North Side.
In recent months, we have seen the number of guests increase for all our food programs. Soaring grocery prices and inflation have exacerbated a long-running hunger crisis that has debilitated Chicagoland families.
Hunger affects our unhoused neighbors who sleep under the bridges of DuSable Lake Shore Drive, but it also affects working families challenged with making ends meet at a time when wages and benefits are simply not keeping up with inflation. We’ve been serving up to 100 families each month — a small number compared to many food pantries and meal programs across Chicago — and a far cry from the current need. The demand for food assistance is immense.
Northwestern University economists estimate that food insecurity affects as many as 1 in 5 households in the Chicago metropolitan area. Food insecurity rates are even higher for Black and Latino households with children. And Chicago isn’t alone. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, more than 34 million people in the U.S. are at risk of hunger.
It is scandalous. We are one of the wealthiest nations in the history of the world. The fact that hunger exists here is a moral failure. Food is a gift, and it is a basic human right. Food is given by God to this earth, not to support a few but to support all life. Because of human greed, food is not equally available to all people.
We have a collective obligation to do more. That obligation extends to all humankind including our community’s newest members — immigrants and refugees. Families like the young couple I met recently at one of our food programs who arrived in Chicago this year after a long journey that began in Venezuela.
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They made the inconceivable choice to leave their home country because they could no longer access milk and basic necessities for their two young children, even if they had money to spend. Their treacherous journey for survival involved walking across Central America, taking turns carrying their 1-year-old while moving at the pace of their 5-year-old. When the couple and their children finally arrived at the U.S. border, they sought asylum. Eventually, they were put on a bus and sent to Chicago. They don’t regret their decision. They were merely doing what was needed to survive and protect their children — something parents instinctively do. They believe our city and our nation will offer their children the chance for a better life.
My own family immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when I was 12 years old. Our nation and our city have their flaws, but we are still a beacon of hope and opportunity for many. We cannot afford to lose that. It is our vocation as a community and a country.
In the days ahead, Christians across our community will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. God appeared as a child born to a young mother and her husband who were traveling in a foreign land — much like the Venezuelan family I met. Throughout his life, Christ fed people and broke bread. Feeding our neighbors is an obligation of most religions and denominations.
Those among us who have been blessed with material wealth have the means to end hunger in our city. The worst thing that can happen to any person, a believer of any faith or a nonbeliever, is the sickness of indifference. This holiday season, I encourage anyone with means to give generously to local organizations that address food insecurity or homelessness or provide services for immigrants. In the new year, make a commitment to volunteer your time and your talents. Contact your elected officials and demand that they address the hunger crisis in the U.S.
And to our neighbors who are at risk of hunger this season, I want you to know that you are not alone in your challenges or your suffering. It can take an incredible amount of courage to ask for help, but there are so many good people and groups in this wonderful city ready to assist you — no questions asked.
The Rev. Manuel Dorantes is pastor of St. Mary of the Lake and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in the Buena Park neighborhood. Dorantes is strategic adviser to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, and he is also a board member of the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
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