The Greater Chicago Food Depository is a non-stop operation serving hundreds of organizations across Chicago and Cook County. With food insecurity still rising, the food bank has opened a new facility focused on preparing hot meals.

At the Southwest Side facility, the operation is all about teamwork — from cutting vegetables to preparing and packing food trays for more than 800 food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters throughout the area.

Jill Rahman is the chief operating officer at the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

“We have pantries in every community,” Rahman said. “I mean, that is the reality. Sometimes the repack team will tell them: You just repacked 17,000 pounds of food today, and it’s likely to go to this community or that community.”

Earlier this year, the organization completed the expansion of its 38,000-square-foot commercial kitchen as Phase 2 of the Nourish Project.

“You might not have a kitchen, you might not have the capability to cook, you might not have the energy to cook, you might not be well enough to cook,” Rahman said. “And so, we needed to build this facility to produce meals and food that was healthy.”

With more space for food production, Rahman said the goal of the new facility is to make and distribute 10,000 ready-to-eat meals daily.

Executive chef Michael Goss oversees daily food operations. He said there could be 18 to 20 different recipes in the works at any given time.

Goss transitioned from fine dining to collaborating with dietitians at the food bank to cook up meals from scratch, anything from chicken, fish and soup to the occasional hot dog meal. 

“Our overall goal is to feed people,” Goss said. “We want them to eat the food that’s prepared so it needs to be tasty and really high quality, and there’s no reason why nutritious or healthful foods can’t be those things.”

Meals prepared at the commercial kitchen are distributed to 34 community partners throughout Chicago and Cook County, including two state-run facilities for asylum seekers. Rahman said the organization is focused on providing not only groceries but also meals that cater to older adults who have disabilities or chronic health conditions.

“We have about 340 older adults that will get a mixed box of meals,” Rahman said, “so they will get five to seven meals, different entrees and a hot meal, and we deliver directly to their home.”

The facility also grows its own herbs like parsley, basil and oregano using hydroponics.

With one in five Chicago-area households experiencing food insecurity, Rahman said the number of people in need has continued to grow since the pandemic.

“While this is definitely the season for giving,” Rahman said, “what we want to remind people is that this is a need that those who are in need face every day, not just Thanksgiving and Christmas. … The thing that sobers me when I come to work is 24% of Chicagoans with households with children are facing food insecurity.”

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