Every Tuesday and Friday, every week of the year, the non-profit organization Great Lakes Adult & Teen Challenge hosts a mobile food pantry in the parking lot of SuperThrift at 5333 N 91st Street.
People line up hours before it opens. Everyone is welcome, no questions asked.
“That shows me just how great the need is right now,” said Yolande Johnson, who comes every week to get food for elderly friends who can’t drive and are struggling to make ends meet. “The price of groceries is so high. People are on fixed incomes. This really helps. Everyone I know who comes here is very thankful for this.”
But it’s not just about helping people put food on their tables. Everyone who works in the mobile food pantry is getting help recovering from addiction.
Great Lakes Adult & Teen Challenge is a faith-based long-term residential program for adult men and women that provides holistic addiction and alcoholism treatment through education, counseling, mentoring, and vocational training.
Participants of the program do a variety of tasks and jobs. Some of them staff the organization’s SuperThrift store, while others work at the mobile food pantry.
“I love it when I see people come here, and I know we can help them with fresh food,” said Fernando Vargas.
Vargas was addicted to drugs, alcohol, and gambling. He had hit rock bottom when he was connected to Great Lakes Adult and Teen Challenge.
“I came here so broken, I wanted to die,” he said. “Now, I’ve been clean and sober for 10 months, and I feel alive again. For the first time in 40 years, I feel like I’m walking free.”
“For some community members who come here to the mobile food pantry, this experience is the only encouragement they get during the week,” said Johnson. “We pray together and pray for each other. It’s a blessing for everybody involved.”
