Chicago Delivers Brings Food, Hope And Kindness To Those At Home Because Of COVID-19
CHICAGO (CBS) -- CBS 2 is committed to Working For Chicago, to get resources into the hands of those who need it.
During the stay-at-home order, not everyone has been able use grocery delivery services.
A new Chicago charity is changing that.
CBS 2's Jim Williams has more.
Emmanuella Carter took the call. On the other end, a blind, elderly woman who said she had not eaten the day before.
"And she can't have visitors because she lives in a senior complex and so just being able to go grocery shopping is out of the question for her," Carter said.
She is a volunteer for Chicago Delivers, a new creation of four churches arranging food deliveries to people in the South and West Side communities hit hard by COVID-19. Like so many, they're staying at home during the pandemic.
"Some of them don't have children or anyone else close to them. They trying to do everything by themselves," Carter said.
Food delivery companies like Instacart cannot accept payment from the public assistance programs SNAP and Link.
This is where Chicago Delivers comes in. The charity gives callers, or those reaching out online, a code for a one-time grocery store delivery. Or they can get a month of prepared meals through Open Kitchens.
Pastor Derrick Puckett leads one of the churches behind Chicago Delivers. He says they quickly went from 60 calls on the first day to 1,200 calls a day.
"I'll say the biggest thing on my mind in the last week is how many people have actually applied for this," Puckett said. "That let me know there's a problem in our city. There are folks who need help particularly within black and brown neighborhoods on the west and south sides in Chicago that have been hit by COVID-19."
For volunteer Emmanuella Carter, the reward was hearing the reaction of the woman we told you about a moment ago.
"So when we told her we had a service to bring her prepared meals already, she cried and cried and cried," Carter said.
Chicago Delivers said it has already distributed $200,000 worth of food. If you want the service, there is a short application you have to fill out.
Call 312-561-3562 or visit the Chicago Delivers website for more information.
