Due to COVID-19 many have struggled to feed their families, and many of our neighbors are going hungry. So, Lakeside Bank sponsored a Virtual Food Drive to benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository April 19-May 3.

“As we face this unprecedented public health and economic crisis, our community must join together to ensure none of our neighbors go hungry,” said Kate Maehr, executive director and CEO of the Food Depository.

This Virtual Food Drive supported the Food Depository’s ongoing efforts to address the increased risk for food insecurity as a result of COVID-19. The economic impact from business and school closures are expected to disproportionately impact Cook County’s lower-income families and hourly workers

Every day, the Food Depository distributes an average of 200,000 pounds of food through its network of 700 partner agencies and programs, to people in need across Chicago and Cook County.

For the past 16 years, Lakeside Bank has sponsored a holiday food drive for the Food Depository, donating nearly 16,000 lbs of food to help alleviate hunger. Now more than ever, it’s time to step up to help those in need.

Our Virtual Food Drive donated 13,382 meals. That’s more than 16,000 pounds of food. There are still a lot of long lines for food … but we helped.