Laura Diaz inspects the shelves Friday morning at the Pan de Vida Midway Pantry, picking up pasta, grapes, cereal and a turkey — food she’ll use partially to fill out her Thanksgiving dinner. She’s planning a large family get-together for the holiday, and every little bit helps, she said. Diaz, 59, of Brighton Park started going to the Archer Heights pantry about a year and a half ago.
Her husband, a former machine operator, suffered a foot injury and now relies on disability benefits. As a stay-at-home mom, she struggles to afford rising food prices on top of the mortgage and utility bills. “I was always the giver, I was never the receiver,” she said.
“It’s a struggle because of how the economy is. Prices are ridiculous. You go to the store, $100 you’re lucky if you get five things .
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It’s hard. I’m like, I gotta break down and come to the food pantry, and you know what, I’m grateful I came. It helps us a lot.
” Diaz was one of about 160 families who received holiday food and other groceries Friday at the pantry inside New Life Community Church. She isn’t alone in struggling to afford groceries, according to pantry staff across the Chicago area, who say there’s been “extraordinary demand” for food assistance the past few years, with a noticeable jump during the holiday season. Free grocery store-style food pantry opens in Waukegan; ‘People can shop with dignity here’ Verenice Martinez, director of food distribution services, said Pan de V.