With the government shutdown continuing to drag on, one area organization isn’t waiting for federal workers to reach out for help. Instead, the Chicago Food Depository is taking matters into its own hands and taking the help to them.
TSA workers received a helping hand from the depository this week, which offered to deliver free boxes and bags filled with food to those impacted by the impasse.
“A lot of people have come together to try and assist us,” TSA worker Gloria Perez said. “It’s an amazing thing to do for us.”
Darrell English, who serves as the vice president of a TSA worker’s union at Midway Airport, helped to make the donation delivery program possible.
“It didn’t just touch me as a vice president here, it also touched me as a person,” he said. “(It’s about) helping a fellow brother and sister out.”
After the successes at Midway, the effort to bring fresh produce and good food to TSA workers has been extended to workers at O’Hare International Airport as well.
“Chicagoans are here to help,” Greater Chicago Food Depository head Jim Conwell said. “We want to make sure that everyone feels comfortable asking for assistance even if it is the first time in their lives.”
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In the meantime, workers like Perez appreciate the help, and says even passengers have expressed their thanks because she and her fellow co-workers have stayed on the job without getting paid.
“We do it for the public safety. We want to, and we need to,” she said. “I’m glad they are learning to appreciate us a little bit more.”
