Volunteers bundled up in winter coats and gloves to stay warm during their frigid shift in the parking lot of First United Church. Various boxes and bags of produce, meat and bread were lined up on the ground, while a pile of cardboard boxes stacked on a splintering wood pallet was situated in the corner.

Inside each of those boxes were frozen turkeys, ready to be distributed to each household in the seemingly never-ending line of cars in the Beyond Hunger drive-through on this cold Nov. 1.

These cars held just a few of the 1,400 people who receive aid from Beyond Hunger each month. Approximately 800,000 people receive food from Beyond Hunger’s parent organization, The Greater Chicago Food Depository, each year, according to Beyond Hunger’s website. In the month of November, Beyond Hunger has the goal of giving a turkey to every household that passes through.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to give every client in the month of November a turkey and every client a ham in the month of December,” explained David Bradley, pantry programs assistant at Beyond Hunger. “That’s been our goal every year around the holidays.”

Bradley has been a major part of the changes that have come to Beyond Hunger in the years since the pandemic, helping draw up creative solutions and ways to bring in more people and deal with the ever-present obstacles with distribution.

“With COVID, we were restricted with how many people we could have in the building and how many feet away you had to be from an individual while you were inside of a building,” said Bradley. He described how this made it difficult to distribute food to all of the clients, and how they had to find a new solution.

“Instead of having clients come through and choose their own food, we prepackaged the different produce and cans and meats,” he said, “then on distribution day, we decided to keep the clients outside in their cars, and give them an opportunity to drive up and receive the food prepackaged in their car without having to get up out of the car.”

This was the birth of the Beyond Hunger drive-through, which has been their largest client base since its enactment. “That’s the preferred method now by most clients just because of how efficient it is and how quickly they get out,” Bradley said, citing surveys done by Beyond Hunger.

He also explained how this process has evolved, giving more variation and choice to the clients. “Say, for instance, if they want one of our Latin Flavors boxes, a Whole Grains box or a box better suited for their dietary needs – or due to their allergies, we can create them on the spot because we have purchased or received [food] through local donations.”

The Beyond Hunger drive-through is also a favorite among volunteers, who suit up rain or snow to help with distribution every Wednesday and Saturday. Simon Gutierrez, a senior at Oak Park River Forest High School, is a recurring volunteer at the drive-through. “I think it was around Thanksgiving, we had flowers and…when you give them something extra like that you can genuinely see on their face a nice smile and like recognition of gratitude for that. And I remember the smiles on people’s faces,” Gutierrez said.

He also explained his personal motivation for volunteering. “I have free time on a Saturday. Why not go and do something that’s actually gonna be worth my time, something that’s actually gonna help?”

Volunteering at Beyond Hunger actually does help. Fernando, who declined to give a last name, is a 63-year-old musician who receives aid from time to time. “[The government] only gives me 36 bucks a month, and I have social security,” he said. “So I can only get so much.”

He also cited medical bills as another plaguing expense. “I could just barely make it for food, so I come here once in a blue moon.” He explained that Beyond Hunger is helping with much more than just food, but also with different social services such as getting IDs. “The staff are very good people here and it’s a blessing to have this and other churches around that assist folks.”

This isn’t an easy task for Beyond Hunger, and as time passes, obstacles continue to pop-up and need to be addressed. However the goal is always to serve this community as best they can. “Beyond Hunger continues to feel the changing landscape and strives to develop our programs in a way to help the community we serve,” Bradley said.