About Us
What We Do
We work in solidarity with mutual aid groups throughout the city to ensure that all our neighbors have access to the resources that they need. Our work focuses on the Northwest side of the city, where we host a monthly free food-pop up with fresh produce, dairy, dried and canned goods.
Our Story
On Sunday May 31st, in the midst of wide-scale protests against police violence, Chicago Public Schools announced that it would halt the free meal distribution program. Since the start of the state-mandated shelter-in-place order on March 21st, the program provided more than 12.5 million meals to families facing food insecurity.
Recognizing the burden this announcement would place on many families, a volunteer posted on social media looking for others willing to set up a pop-up food drive. By Monday morning, 30 community members on Chicago’s northwest side were mobilized. By mid-day, the group had collected hundreds of dollars in cash donations, along with dozens of bags of food donations, and had started distributing food and hygiene products to neighbors. This event would become Northwest Side Solidarity Network’s first pop-up food pantry.
By the end of the week, we had connected with more than 80 volunteers and had successfully run six pop-up food pantries to support families across the northwest side of Chicago. Additionally, we redistributed hundreds of dollars worth of donations to community groups requesting assistance on the South and West sides of the city. While CPS food distribution resumed after just one day of pause, we saw a clear continued need for community support in accessing fresh food and hygiene products.
Our Values
Restorative justice
Anti-racism
Collaboration
Swarm mentality (lattice structure rather than top-down)
Working at the pace of capacity
Listening to the community first
Strength-based (volunteers doing tasks that energize them & in how we view the community)
