Anonymous Online
Google
More of a PR partnership concept than an actual program meant to address food scarcity issues. As a client of a food program, I was left with little to no food while programs blasted their social media pages with propaganda images telling companies that partnering with them would improve their image. They also market themselves to volunteers seeking that feeling of weekend warriorism, and to those needing to meet volunteer requirements for schools and various programs.
My fridge and cupboards are completely bare. As a disabled person without food stamps and medical bills piling up, I think what they're doing is atrocious. While they push images of grocery bags bursting at the seams with fresh produce and clean food, I usually get a few rotten items, expired frozen meat, a few cans of dollar store beans, white rice I can't eat because I'm diabetic and moldy bread.
Calling and messaging the Greater Chicago Food Repo doesn't help because they too are mostly concerned with partnering for PR purposes; their contact page has the subject-selector that is 99% dedicated to PR and Business related subjects. Even the reviews here on Google Reviews and Yelp are mostly fluff from volunteers and not clients. That's review manipulation and corruption in my eyes.
Additionally, if a pantry stiffs a client, that's if for that month because the Food Repo has strict guidelines about only seeing one place a month. The Repo also is known to turn a blind eye to pantries knowingly keeping the fresh produce for the staff and volunteers. It's a sad state where only the "volunteers" and "workers" have positive things to say because they're the only ones benefiting from this program.
The rich are eating the poor. They do not care. The poor are a commodity being used for PR purposes. They would pose with our corpses and empty cupboards if they thought they could still market it.
Some of us clients have factually have never once received a "months supply of groceries" as marketed, while we sign all sorts of contracts up and down. But I have seen with my own eyes volunteers and workers move multiple months-worth of fresh produce and boxes of food, after service hours, out the backdoor and into their expensive SUVs after the service day. I overhear the same pep-talk they give each other each time at different pantries: "otherwise it'll go to waste!". Again: my fridge and cupboards are completely bare.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository staff have called me to tell me they don't believe me, they don't care, they will NEVER investigate and they won't even visit my home. They're soulless.
They even removed their public email for clients (PR contact is still available, go figure) and instead have implemented an online form which seems to indicate they don't want to leave a paper trail that could leave them open to accountability (so if you're a client screenshot before you click submit).
Edit: Added are some photos showing some rotten produce they gave me, along with a sheeting showing the delivery was on the 7th but the meat was already expired on the 5th. I have serious health conditions including heart failure and diabetes and I can't play around with expired food.
