Venezuelan new arrivals join forces with Chicago nonprofit to tackle winter hunger

CHICAGO - A Chicago nonprofit has recruited migrants to help other migrants stay fed this winter.

Fight2Feed operates out of the industrial kitchen at McCormick Place East, and prepares 1000 hot meals each weekend. For the last 10 years, those meals have been going to underserved Chicagoans, but this winter, the agency has pivoted to include feeding new arrivals.

The nonprofit has recruited new arrivals from Venezuela to do everything from meal prep to cleaning, organizing pantries, sorting, and packing food.

"It's definitely a win-win for everyone," said Fight2Feed Vice President Lisa Meredith. She and Founder Jiwon McCartney are formerly of the hospitality industry, where they noticed a lot of hot meals going to waste, especially at conferences and big banquets.

"What happens to the surplus? The leftovers?" said Meredith. "We discovered that a lot of it went, unfortunately, in the garbage. We decided: why don't we repurpose this?"

Fight2Feed has been rescuing those hot meals before they're tossed, and getting them to the neediest Chicagoans. Now, they're using that model — which by the way, gives companies who paid for them a nice write-off — to feed Chicago's new arrivals. This winter, they've recruited migrants to help in the effort to feed their peers.

A new arrival from Venezuela told FOX 32 that it's a labor of love to serve other newly-arrived Venezuelans who are struggling to find their footing in a new country.

"By them being able to help their own community, they're helping to feed them in the way that they're used to," said Meredith. "A lot of the food that we're used to eating here in America may not be to their palate. So they're able to help us and better educate us on how to serve them. It's a blessing."

Fight2Feed is in need of volunteers, supplies, and funding. If you are interested in helping out, head to their website fight2feed.org.