CHICAGO – A new dining campaign is giving Chicago-area residents a way to help neighbors facing hunger simply by ordering a meal.
What we know:
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is partnering with 44 restaurants in a campaign called “86 Hunger.” Each restaurant features a special dish, and with each purchase, $1 goes to the food depository to help feed neighbors.
Rodolfo Godinez, marketing manager at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, said the campaign is designed to both raise funds and build awareness.
“It’s a great way to not only raise funds for the food depository, but also to bring awareness to the issues that we’re having in our communities,” Godinez said.
Godinez said one in five families in the Chicago area is facing food insecurity.
Celebrity chef Dominique Leach, owner of Lexington Betty Smokehouse, 756 E. 111th St., is the first South Side restaurant to participate.
Leach is featuring jerk chicken with pickled cabbage.
“We serve it here at the restaurant. It’s a fan favorite, and I thought it would be a good dish to promote and get people out to support 86 Hunger,” Leach said.
Lexington Betty Smokehouse has been in the Pullman neighborhood for six years.
“It’s important for us to take care of each other, especially in this interesting climate that we’re in. I like to align myself with anything of substance and happy to be a part of it,” Leach said.
What’s next:
86 Hunger runs through the month of September.
For a list of participating restaurants, follow this link.
