Diego Mundo and Belinda Longmire have never met, but they share a meaningful connection.
Longmire, a Food Depository cook, prepares healthy meals that are flash frozen and sent to dozens of our partner food pantries, offering a convenient lunch or dinner for guests who face challenges to cook for themselves. Some of these neighbors have mobility issues, lack access to a kitchen or have medical needs for healthy foods that often aren’t available or affordable.
“Every day I think about those I’m cooking for,” said Longmire, a graduate of the Food Depository’s hospitality training program. “Every day I put my heart into it.”
Mundo is one of the many neighbors who enjoy Longmire’s cooking. Every time he visits the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels food pantry in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood with his mom, Rocio, Mundo is excited to select the prepared meals.
“Diego loves them,” Rocio said of the meals. “And he’s able to cook them for himself and his brother, who also has special needs.” The convenience of the meals means a lot to the young man who savors any act of independence – and to his loving mom.
“(The meals) have been a lifesaver for me and my seven.”
Sherrie Sutton, foster mom of seven children
Longmire and the rest of the Food Depository’s meal production team prepare about 1,000 meals a day in our current kitchen. In September 2022, we broke ground on our expanded facility, which will be six to seven times larger than our current kitchen, increasing our ability to provide meals for busy parents, older adults and other neighbors. As construction continues, we distribute meals to a set number of our partner food pantries, part of a pilot program to identify best practices before we increase production.
Throughout fiscal year 2023, dozens of construction partners transformed the empty field next to our headquarters into a facility that will eventually allow us to produce up to 5,000 healthy, made-from-scratch meals a day. The expansion, the culmination of our multi-year Nourish Project, is possible thanks to our generous donors.
“Thousands of people will be getting dinner who aren’t getting it now,” said Larry Weger, the Food Depository’s senior director of meal manufacturing, adding that the growth will also generate new job opportunities. We anticipate completion of the facility in early 2024.
In addition to healthy frozen meals, our team prepares a number of medically tailored meals for individuals with dietary restrictions in collaboration with Access Community Health Network. All of the meals we prepare reflect the Food Depository’s commitment to end hunger in Chicago and Cook County by ensuring that our neighbors have access not only to nutritious food, but also a healthy meal.
The prepared meals Sherrie Sutton, 66, receives at the Chosen Tabernacle food pantry in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood provide her peace of mind. Sutton fosters seven children ages 2 to 18, and whenever she needs to leave the older kids at home, the frozen prepared meals ensure they’ll eat a healthy meal.
“(The meals) have been a lifesaver for me and my seven,” Sutton said.
For Eloise Beasley, 74, the prepared meals allow better management of her diabetes. Affording groceries on a fixed income isn’t easy, nor is finding low-sodium foods when she’s grocery shopping at dollar stores. “The meals come in handy,” Beasley said. “And they’re delicious!”
The Food Depository’s executive chef Michael Goss said that the new facility will enable his team to help more neighbors at heightened risk for food insecurity. “We’re going to be well-equipped to work at high volume,” he said, noting that his team is ready for the new challenge.
“They are absolutely committed to acting on our values,” he said. “Everything we do is based on the premise that everybody deserves a quality, wholesome meal. We believe food is a human right.”
