I’m hoping someone here might know of a charity or non-profit in Chicago that would take (same-day) donations of occasionally large amounts of catered food.
I work in downtown Chicago for a company with about 200 people in this office. Every Wednesday, the company sponsors a lunch for the employees - currently my project. Problem is, sometimes we have sizable amounts of leftovers. For instance, today was tacos, and we have about 75 wrapped tacos and a few trays of rice and beans leftover that won’t get eaten. I hate throwing it all away, but I don’t know of any place that will take it. Can anyone help out? Of course, anyone who works in downtown Chicago is welcome to stop by and have a taco on us!
That standing for First Call for Help. See if you can find a phone book listing the United Way in your area. Here in Minnesota, they have a state wide 1-800 number and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear about the same thing in Chi town.
They should be able to give you a list of food shelves or soup kitchens that accept donations. There are likely any number of rules and regulations they will have to satisfy that might limit what they can accept, but I would think that wrapped food from a catering company would be acceptible. I know of more than one company that’s called the Minneapolis office (where I’m just wrapping up a contract) that’s called with a dozen pizza’s or such they wanted to go to someone who needed the food.
There is a mission on State about a block and a half south of Congress on the west side of the street. I don’t know the name of it, but in the past we’ve donated mass quantities of leftover party food the same day, and they’ve been quite happy to take it.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ll call the Pacific Garden Mission now - they’re right up the street from us. Re: the Food Depository, I wasn’t sure if they’d take same-day donations.
Just Eat It! (Eat it!)
Eat it! (Eat it!)
Don’tcha make me repeat it!
Have a banana, have a whole bunch,
It doesn’t matter what you had for lunch,
Just eat it (eat it eat it eat it…)