As Cook County’s food bank, the Greater Chicago Food Depository distributes more than 78 million pounds of food each year. A large portion of this food must be inspected or sorted and then packaged before it can be safely distributed through a network of over 600 member agencies (food pantries, kitchens, shelters, etc). Volunteers complete much of this work. Frequent projects involve re-packaging bulk cereal or pasta, sorting bread or canned food donations, or gleaning produce. Other projects involve packing emergency food boxes that can feed a family of five for 3-4 days. The boxes move down a conveyor belt as volunteers put food products into each box.

St. Mary volunteers earn credits for the Catholic Charities West Suburban Food Pantry. The credits that each volunteer earns in one evening allow the credited agency to purchase an additional 214 pounds of food from the depository. You can be sure that your efforts are making a huge difference in fighting hunger in our area!