As part of his initiative to highlight the City of Chicago’s mission to feed the asylum seekers who are currently living in the city’s shelters, on Feb. 6 Mayor Brandon Johnson toured BJ’s Market and Bakery. As CBS News reported, the business is one of 17 establishments that serve migrants hot meals in the city’s shelters thanks to a $17.6 million contribution to the Greater Chicago Food Depository from the state of Illinois and private donations. Largely comprised of Black and Latinx businesses, they have served approximately 18,000 meals each day since the end of 2022.
Kate Maehr, the executive director & CEO of the Food Depository, told CBS News, “It is a model of what we were able to do; not only providing millions of meals for new arrivals, but also reinvesting millions of dollars in small and local Black- and brown-owned businesses.”
John Meyer, the owner chef/owner of BJ’s Market said that his restaurant has seen a 100% increase in revenue since joining the program, which has allowed him to grow his staff, adding four additional employees.
During a press conference, Johnson briefly discussed the importance of the program to him, and called for state and local efforts to pitch in and help in the effort, saying, “This mission is going to take all of us so there is a strong commitment for the state, county, and city to continue to challenge the federal government to respond to international crises while also making sure that the 28 shelters I have stood up, the 5,500 children I am educating, and the thousands of families that we are providing healthcare for… we continue our efforts to do just that.”
Johnson also praised the program as a good representation of the spirit of Chicago, adding “The $17 million investment for these 18 black and brown small businesses really captures what I call the soul of Chicago. It’s who we are. I actually think it’s quite fitting that we are in this wonderful small business because it has been Black and brown small businesses that have stepped up in this moment, in this crisis, to respond to these families who are arriving here.”
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