'Just So Grateful': A Local Nonprofit Has Students Fighting Food Insecurity, Food Waste While Helping Others
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A nonprofit is serving up a mixed bag of fighting food insecurity and food waste with making students' dreams come true.
CBS 2's Marissa Parra has their story.
If you step into this room and ask what's cooking...
"There's sausage with rice and carrots."
You'll get a different answer every time.
"Sometimes we cook for the people so they can have hot meals, other times we prepare bags," said student Jerry Green.
They prepare at least 250 bags every week, using ingredients that were rescued.
"We're keeping Chicagoans fed. We're keeping landfills from growing," said Jiwon McCarthy, founder of Fight2Feed.
Since the organization moved into McCormick Place in February, the non-profit Fight2Feed has rescued over 2.2 million pounds of food that would otherwise be thrown away.
Instead it's given to people who need it most.
"Homeless seniors, kids in food insecure housing," said Fight2Feed's Phil Siddu.
"They're just so grateful because they weren't sure," McCarthy said. "They weren't sure where their next meal was gonna come from."
And now, tucked away inside the east kitchen of McCormick Place, Fight2Feed is kicking it up a notch, with new space that allows for new partnerships.
Like Chicago police officers looking to do outreach.
"Most of them are here on their days off," McCarthy said.
And students from city schools. Some of them with culinary dreams of their own.
"I wanna eventually become a chef and open my own restaurant where people can have fancy, five-star food but for cheap," said student Genaro Salgado. "Not the expensive amount it normally is."
As well as some students who just want to keep their hands busy by keeping bellies full.
"I like helping people," said student Jerry Green.
"Providing meals and feeding families. People really need that, it's really beneficial," student Shabell Burch. "If wasn't getting paid, I'd still come."
You can donate online or sign up to volunteer yourself. Click here to learn more about the nonprofit Fight2Feed.
