Food for Friends gives lending hand to poor

Hundreds of families on Elgin's near-northeast side are enjoying hearty ham meals for Easter today, thanks to generous volunteers from throughout the Chicago area.

Food for Friends, a 14-year-old nonprofit group based in Palatine, planned to distribute 100 nonperishable food baskets last week to low-income families in the area immediately north of Kimball Boulevard and along the Dundee Avenue corridor.

The group partnered with Bethesda Church of God in Christ and the Elgin Police Department's community restitution workers in spreading the word by hand-delivering more than 500 fliers in Spanish and English.

"These are the working poor in our community," said Dan Herzog, president of Food for Friends. "They are not the homeless who some may think take this stuff and cook it over a campfire in the woods somewhere.

"When you look at gas prices and wonder how you can afford to pay these high prices, you have to ask yourself, 'How are the poor going to fill their cars?' They have to buy gas, too, but they sacrifice on other things such as food."

Herzog said Food for Friends started its interest in Elgin's near-east side when the Wayside Center was located there on the 400 block of Dundee Avenue.

The center, which relocated last year to a new facility it shares with Elgin PADS on the west side, hosted a sit-down dinner for its clients, many of whom are homeless, at the Bethesda Church on Freemont Street.

But volunteers noticed attendance at the dinners began to dwindle over the years and they didn't know how to dispense of the leftover food.

Herzog said it's more economical for the group to purchase canned nonperishable items, such as the ham and vegetables, through the Northern Illinois Food Bank. The group also includes brownies, bread and packets of drink mix to complete each meal give-away for a family of five.

"We thought it might be better and more convenient for people to pick up these items and prepare the dinner in their homes," he said. "Many times, families work different shifts or they are dealing with child-care issues and it's hard for all of them to come to a dinner."

The Rev. James Marks, pastor of Bethesda, said the meals help people realize they are not forgotten.

"We continue this partnership because we are trying to help those in need in the community," he said. "Some people need these meals, and it's our focus to provide a good meal for them on Easter."

Herzog said Food for Friends' concern for Elgin's near-northeast side remains strong mainly because of Marks and the outreach of Bethesda's mostly black congregation.

"We feel led to work with this community because there is something very special about this area and with the work Pastor Marks is doing," he said. "It's not just about handing out the food, it's working to tear down racial lines and seeing churches come together."

Since its inception in 1994, Food for Friends has served thousands of meals to people at Chicago's Pacific Garden Mission and in Elgin.