When the pandemic forced St. Eulalia Parish’s weekly soup kitchen to close because of social distancing requirements, the parish’s Quinn Community Center staff decided it could still distribute meals and groceries to people safely with a drive-thru model.

Since March, the Maywood parish has distributed about 300 meals weekly to people who stop by on Tuesday evenings.

“We put it together every week and all that we ask is that they drive up, stay socially distant, masked up. They don’t even get out of their car,” said volunteer Simon Kierulf, who runs the event. “They need it. People have sent us pictures of the meals they make from this food. It’s so cool.”

In addition to meals donated from businesses like Firehouse Subs, people receive grocery supplies, which include bread and dairy items. On July 28, people also received Girl Scout cookies and cereal.

Over the summer, with COVID-19 infection rates rising again, people have been requesting things like diapers, toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Included in the donation bags are activity books for children from the Quinn Center’s summer program, which couldn’t take place in person this year.

Kierulf said the uncertain economy has made food insecurity go on longer than expected for many.

“I’ve been here for months now doing it and I thought it would dwindle in numbers, but the numbers are steady,” he said.

The Quinn Community Center, which opened in 2011 in the parish’s former school building, relies on support from other parishes and groups for donations to the food giveaway. The center also partners with nearby Loyola University Medical Center.

One of those partners is Divine Savior in Norridge, which donates groceries each week.

On July 28, Divine Savior parishioner Jennifer Adam was there with her two children and mother bagging items. She and her children have been coming each week since the pandemic started. Sometimes they join other families from the parish in a caravan to Maywood, bringing groceries bought by the parish and parishioners for the giveaway.

Divine Savior takes up a collection each week and volunteers shop for the food. They usually purchase between $400 and $900 in groceries a week, which doesn’t include donated items dropped at the parish by other parishioners.

“We wanted to do something to help our community,” Adam said of delivering the groceries with her family. “It warms our hearts to be able to help this way. We like giving our kids the opportunity to help as well.”

Adam’s family has been donating to the center’s food pantry for some time, she said. When Adam wasn’t working remotely like she is now, her mother would often deliver the food with the children. 

“I love it. It’s very meaningful to us because when you have such a big problem in the world to be able to play a small role and be able to help, it makes you feel good. And the kids love it,” she said. “I think that Tuesday afternoons are the new highlight of our week to be able to do this.”

The Quinn Center is exploring other financial options to keep the giveaway going, said Kristen Mighty, executive director.

“We’ve seen a recent increase in the number of new funding opportunities in response to COVID-19,” she said in an email. “As a result, we have submitted proposals for many of the grants for which we are eligible in order to help sustain our ability to continue this outreach as long as it is needed.”

As at other parishes, regular programing like summer camps or vacation Bible schools had to go online during the summer. The Quinn Center provides meals to children as part of its summer camp program, so it offered those meals to-go. Families could pick them up along with educational materials.

The center is doing everything it can to continue serving the needs of Proviso Township, where it is located.

“We’ve seen firsthand how communities of color and those living in poverty have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19,” Mighty said. “Our work was established and has sustained through relationships and that has not stopped because of the pandemic. It is important, now more than ever, to look out for and check in on one another, and rally together to help everyone feel connected to a community and support system, and for all of us at the Quinn Center to do all that we can to meet our community’s most fundamental need throughout these challenging times.”

The hunger ministry is just one of the ways the center connects the parish with the community.

“We do not view this outreach as a random pop-up thing during COVID-19,” she said. “We have always viewed this kind of outreach as a way to continue engaging the community so that we can address the community’s needs holistically and relationally.”