28th Annual Hunger Walk

Location: Soldier Field

Date: Saturday, June 29, 2013; 8:00-11:00 am

It was a huge event

I had heard about this 5K walk from Keith at 'Wells Street Café' and had joined the Breaking Bread team.  I had informed Keith that I would be walking with them and we agreed to meet at the site.  Well, having been to multiple walks this summer; I knew that without a pre-defined place to meet, this would be a difficult task.  One of the reasons why I had been volunteering for the walks rather than participating is because I usually see people walking in groups, either with family or friends.  Even within the huge crowd, I have always felt alone.  Hence, when I heard that Breaking Bread folks were going to be walking together, I was pleased that finally I would be able to be a part of a team.  However, without finalizing a meeting place, I had my doubts as I arrived at the venue.  Either ways, I would be participating in the 28^th Annual Hunger Games Walk. 

Cue the 'Imperial March' music

As suspected the green outside Soldier Field was full of people.  As I walked past the festivities, I almost went to the volunteer tent, before remembering that I was actually a walker!  After asking around a bit, I located the check-in tent and collected my shirt, not knowing if the rest of my team was there.  There was still some time before the walk commenced, so I walked about and as I did so, noticed a few familiar faces.  I saw Judy, who runs the ‘Sunday Dinner at Roger’s Park’ program of Chicago Cares, as well as the team from ‘Esperanza’, with whom I had done a One Brick project.  I also spotted a sign saying ‘Deborah’s Place’ and somewhere in the crowd was the team from ‘Lakeview Pantry’.  It looked like everyone with whom I had done projects was walking.  In addition to all of these organizations, also present was a man on stilts and ‘Storm Troopers’ from ‘Star Wars’, with ‘Darth Vader’ in tow!  In fact these guys were extremely popular and lots of people were lining up to take pictures with them.  I failed to see their link with eradicating hunger, though the Empire did rule with an iron fist over the Rebels and perhaps this was a way of showing them that people would stand united against their oppression. What, I could be Hans...or Luke...or at least one of the X-Wing pilots!

And we were off

McDonald's was the main sponsor for the walk and one of the executives welcomed everyone.  After a round of stretching exercises led by ‘Ronald McDonald’ and me making another futile effort to locate my team, we were ready to begin.  I lined up behind thousands of people and thousands behind me.  I could see the ‘Esperanza’ team in front and soon the DJ led a count down and we were off.  The main difference between this walk and the previous one that I had done here was the route.  Instead of walking North towards the loop and downtown, we would be going South down Lakeshore Drive.  We walked past the Soldier Field parking lots and then through the long tunnel of McCormick Place.  We emerged out and continued down the path before turning back after about 2 miles.  I looked around me and as usual; I could see a lot of groups and communities walking together.  As the path took us next to the lake, I could see the beautiful sights near the harbor as well ‘Northerly Island’.  Also present were the cheering crew who were encouraging us as we made our way back to the stadium. 

It may have only been 5K, but we had come a long way

I crossed the finish line and saw that the celebrations were on.  The walk was organized by ‘The Greater Chicago Food Depository’.  According to their website, “The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s food bank, is a nonprofit food distribution and training center providing food for hungry people while striving to end hunger in our community.  The Food Depository distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 650 pantries, soup kitchens and shelters to 678,000 adults and children in Cook County every year.  Last year, the Food Depository distributed 66 million pounds of nonperishable food and fresh produce, dairy products and meat, the equivalent of 150,000 meals every day.  More than 860,000 people in Cook County--1 in 6 people--are food insecure and unsure of when they will receive their next meal. In some communities, more than 1 in 3 people are food insecure.”  I have done several programs with Chicago Cares that have driven home the point on how prevalent the issue of hunger is in our community.  Today’s walk was an exercise in solidarity for all of us to make a statement to end this hunger.  So what if I had not met up with my team.  I may have walked by myself, but I most definitely was not alone.